Book of Existence
by Sapphirina
Summary: After five years of nothingness, Light returns to the living for a second chance to create an ideal world. To make it all perfect, a girl appears with a book that could grant him eternal life. Will he succeed in getting the book and becoming a true god?
1. Chapter 1: Revival

**A/N: This is my first Death Note fanfic. The idea suddenly came to me and I wanted to try it. But I never guessed I would really like the first chapter as much as I did. Anyway, I hope Light and Ryuk is not out of character because you'll probably hate it and I would. So if they are, let me now what was so out of character about them and I'll try to fix it. Also, the "L" referred to in the beginning is Near. Also, I don't know if this will become a romance story. I realized that all my stories pertain to romance and this could possibly turn into one, too. Well for now, this won't be.**

**I will only put the following once:**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note or the characters or anything else associated with it. The only thing I own is my character and this plot idea. **

**BOOK OF EXISTENCE  
****CHAPTER 1  
****:Revival:**

_Rule 1: For a person to be revived, the person's name, followed by the dates of birth and death, must be written in the book within a minute's time._

In a prison, located somewhere in Japan, cameras went off at the crime scene. The crime had taken place inside a cell, its only residents lying dead on the concrete floor. A police officer was drawing chalk outlines of the two bodies while photographers snapped pictures of the blood-stained wall. Soon a doctor arrived to see the cause of death. More officers waited outside in the hallway, their eyes glued to the message written. Ironically, light that was filtered from the outside shined on the blood as if the message was a sign of something evil or, better yet, a message from God.

In the hallway, an officer lit a cigarette and took a long drag to stop his irrational trembling and to ease his troubled mind. He sighed.

"Over five years and now this. The press will find out soon, no doubt about it."

A lower-ranked policeman spoke up. "But Kira couldn't have returned, right? Didn't L say that the Kira case was officially done with?"

The policemen started to place the bodies in bags.

The officer took another long drag. "A message about Kira, a prisoner decides to bash his jail mate's head in and suddenly dies of an obvious heart attack . . . a mere coincidence or—" another drag from his cigarette,"— or a doing of Kira?"

"But sir, you don't actually believe it's Kira."

His eyes glanced at each letter on the wall before resting on the word 'KIRA' which was underlined crazily. He soon wondered if he could smoke two cigarettes at a time; one was no longer doing the job of calming him down. "I don't know and personally, I don't want to."

* * *

Light Yagami opened his eyes and sat up, feeling the rain pelt him greedily. At first he didn't realize where he was. Then lightning flashed and thunder sounded in the background. Light discovered that he was sitting in a coffin. The top half of the cover had been lifted up, explaining why his head did not collide with it. Still wondering what was going on, he lifted the bottom cover up. Then he stood, seeing the walls of dirt surrounding him.

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Around the same time, he looked up.

Light saw a young woman standing near the edge of the pit. She stared downward with absolute curiosity. Light eyed the red apple in her hand and the two books, one black, one brown, held tightly against her chest. Judging by the condition of the woman's clothes, she must had been here for a while by his grave . . .

It came back to him in a rush. Near, Matsuda, the SPK, Ryuk, Mikami, everything. He, Light Yagami, had died. Shot five times, name written in Ryuk's Death Note. He was certain that was the last thing he saw before he disappeared into nothingness. Yet, here he was now, alive in his own grave. Light had to look at his hands to prove to himself he was back in the human world. Despite the sight of non-rotten flesh, the whole situation seemed impossible. Death was an irreversible thing, well proven by the Death Note he had used countless times.

"Kira?"

Light snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the woman. For the first time, he took a good look at her. She was wearing black shirt and pants with a tinge of red. Her raven hair was cut awkwardly; it was long in the front while short in the back. In addition, her bangs reached passed the bridge of her nose except for a section that had been cut out to reveal an eye.

The woman spoke again.

"Are you?" Her voice was emotionless, no hints of happiness or fright, just an eerie acceptance of the fact that he had just popped out of his grave. Like she had seen the dead rise countless times before.

Light did not answer.

The woman sighed and looked over her shoulder. "Ryuk? Is this him?"

Light's eyes opened with alarm. _Ryuk?_

After a moment or two, the woman turned toward Light. "He said that you should be able to answer that."

_If she knows Ryuk then . . ._

"I am," Light admitted.

The sky flashed as Light climbed out of the grave. By the time he was out, the suit he had been buried in was muddy and wet. But he could care less. He approached the woman, who backed away as if she was scared. The moment he stopped, she stopped too. Because he was closer, he could see that whatever mascara she had on was running due to the rain. It also looked as if she had tried wiping it off a few times, smearing and rubbing it into her cheeks.

The woman's lips parted before she said, "I'm glad that you are." She put down the brown book and extended the black one toward Light. Light could see the words 'Death Note' written in white on the cover. His reddish-brown eyes lit up.

"I relinquish ownership of this notebook."

The woman dropped it and he picked it up.

A new voice was heard. "No hard feelings, eh, Light?"

Light recognized it as Ryuk's. "Why are you here, Ryuk?" Light asked without turning around to look at the shinigami.

Ryuk grinned. "I was bored and when I heard that the Shinigami King lost that book," he pointed to the brown one next to the girl, "I wanted to see who found it." He realized that the woman could no longer see him. He watched in slight amusement as she looked around.

"That book," Light said, eying the one that she had put on the ground.

The woman picked it up and held it in a protective manner. "I call it the Book of Existence."

Ryuk snickered. "That's not what it's called, Light. It has a much better name."

The woman lifted up a finger and said "Oh" as an idea came to mind. She reached out and touched the Death Note in Light's hands. She soon spotted Ryuk behind Light and tossed the red apple at the shinigami. Ryuk caught it. "There's your reward for your help."

Ryuk devoured it and threw the core by a nearby tree. He licked his lips. "I forgot how . . . juicy these are."

Light narrowed his eyes, glaring at the shinigami. He was angry at Ryuk for his last minute betrayal that day. He had been so close to defeating Near and becoming God of a new world. And if it hadn't been for that fool Mikami — No. Now that he was alive again, he had another chance at creating his ideal world. Hopefully, all the people who had screwed him over one way or another — Mikami, Misa — were dead now. Keeping that possibility in mind, he calmed down and looked at the woman. "Tell me: what does that book do?"

" . . . I can bring the dead back to life by writing the name of the person and the dates of birth and death, Kira. I can also return them to the dead by simply crossing their name out." Again, no emotion and almost robotic in nature.

Light waited for more but she stopped talking. "Is that all?" So far, there was nothing worthy of his interest or concern.

Her dark eyes landed on the book as she admired its weathered condition. She shook her head, trying to get the wet locks of hair out of her face. She was going to be sick from being out in the rain too long. She could tell. " . . . Also," she decided to add, "the owner of this book is granted eternal life."

"Eternal life?"

Ryuk's grin widened. He was behind Light but he could imagine the expression and the thoughts that were going through his mind. He was probably trying to come up with a way to steal the book from her. With a book like that, Light could rule his ideal world forever and wouldn't everyone love that.

She nodded. "It's true. Unfortunately, that's all I know, Kira."

Light's demeanor changed into a more friendly one. "You don't have to call me Kira."

She almost seemed taken back by this. "Then I shall call you . . . Yagami. Yagami, I only brought you back for one reason. You need to restore order to the world."

Ryuk laughed. "You sound like a real Kira worshipper."

The woman looked up at the sky when it flashed.

"Don't get me wrong, Ryuk. At the beginning, when Kira first appeared, I hated him. To me, he was an evil person who wanted the world to live in constant fear and tyranny, frightened of the idea of dropping dead if they did the tiniest thing wrong." Her dark eyes landed on Light to catch his reaction to that statement. If there was one, she had missed it. She went on. "But when you died, Yagami, I realize that you were actually good for this world. Crime shot up, bad things happened, even to me. When I found this book and knew what it could do, I decided to revive you. By then it was obvious that only Kira can fix this world and make it the way it should be."

_Perfect_, Light thought, almost wanting to smirk. _She already adores me._ "But how did you know I was Kira?" He asked, his charm of persuasion never wavering.

"Ryuk came after I found this book and gave me hints to figure out the identity of Kira. He thought it would be amusing if I struggled a lot."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pen and a newspaper clipping. Then she handed it over to Light. Light stared at the clipping. It contained a photograph of a serial killer that was recently apprehended only a few days ago. He looked back up at the woman, waiting for her to say something.

"Please do justice, Yagami."

"Well, Light?" Ryuk prompted.

Light glanced at the caption underneath the picture and scribbled the name down in the notebook. He suddenly felt exhilarated, knowing that a criminal was about to die in a short time from now. He yearned for another criminal's name because he knew there were so many more since the time he had died. _They must be swarming all over the place, _he thought to himself, disgusted at the idea. He looked at the woman, about to ask for any more criminals that she knew of when he saw the brown book in her arms. Suddenly he remembered why he was bothering with the woman in the first place. He put on a friendly smile. "You never told me your name. I'm sure you know mine by now."

_Light's already put on his facade_, Ryuk thought as he looked at the girl. _Wonder what she will do now?_

The woman opened her mouth but closed it to think longer. " . . . Thorn. It's my nickname."

"So you won't let me know you real name?" Light pressured slightly.

"Even there are things I can't trust Kira with."

So the girl was not going to give her name to him so easily. Now this was the entertainment that only humans could give Ryuk. The shinigami wondered how long it would take Light to figure out Thorn's real name. He'd give Light a week, knowing how intelligent he was. Ryuk already knew that the shinigami eyes were useless; he could not see her name. Ryuk had wrote it off as a mere "side effect" of the book. But it was because of this side effect that he was able to find who had picked up the book. Thorn had eventually told Ryuk her real name for whatever strange reason it would be. She apparently thought that he was trustworthy.

Thorn swayed on the spot, noticing how the emotion in Light's eyes had changed into one of a more menacing nature. He seemed almost pissed off. She looked off into the distance, not wanting to feel as if she had done something wrong. "Your home town is pretty close to here."

"What?"

"If you want, you're welcome to stay with me for a while until you can rightfully claim your place in the world. My place is an hour away, so you'll be far from any person who could recognize you."

Light bit his tongue, preventing himself from sounding annoyed. Due to all those times around Misa, he had gotten enough practice. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

"You don't have to lie."

"What would make you think that?"

Thorn's eyes shifted to the grinning shinigami. " . . . No reason."

_Rule 2: The only way the owner can die is through the use of a Death Note._

**A/N: And that's it. I know it's short but hopefully the next chapter will be longer. I decided that I would explain the rules of the book, sort of like how Obata and Ohba gave us the rules of the Death Note in each book. Anyway, that's all I have to say.**

**A/N-2: I had to add that tid bit that Ryuk could not see her name. I had it planned to put as one of the later rules but someone commented on it. I already knew that if Light were to have possession of the Death Note, he could do the eye trade and see her name right off the bat. I figured with a "side effect" like that, it would make things more interesting. It's my fault for not adding this when I first posted. However, if it seems too Mary-Sue-ish of a trait, let me know and I won't make Thorn give up ownership of the notebook to make things simple.**


	2. Chapter 2: Fear

**A/N: Yeah. I updated. This chapter is longer than the first one. I hope it's not too long because I was planning on it. To let you know ahead of time, anything in italics surround by ' ' means that its dialogue from the TV. Near makes a small appearance in this chapter because he will play a role in later ones. That would start about Chapter 7. I know this because I planned the next 4 chapters out. Actually I'm working on the fourth one know. Enjoy. Oh yeah, I guess I made Light a little more evil in this chapter. You'll see.**

**CHAPTER 2**

**:Fear:**

_Rule 3: The owner's name is protected from a human who has done the eye trade._

Light had searched everywhere in Thorn's small, one-bedroom apartment. There was no passports, no driver's licenses, no ID cards to be found. Nothing to give him the woman's name.

"Dammit," he said aloud, quickly placing everything where it had been. Thorn would be back in a few minutes from her job and he did not want her to know that he had been snooping around for information. Light was beginning to think that she knew that he would try to search. She would leave the house too many times in one day, giving him too many opportunities to look. She was probably enjoying the idea of him running around on a nearly impossible search. Ryuk was; he was still laughing in the kitchen.

The shinigami picked up an apple and bit into it. "You found anything yet?" He looked at Light, who was still wearing blue pajamas, the only item of Thorn's clothing that was big enough and not girly.

Light glared. "What do you think, Ryuk?"

Ryuk grinned, catching the frustration. "At least she's not keeping you here against your will. Plus she got apples." He threw the core into the garbage and dug into the fruit bowl on the counter. He pulled out a green apple and examined it. _This is new._

"I don't trust her."

"Because she isn't praising you on her knees, yet?"

"She has that book and she's not going to hand it over. It's easier if I kill her."

"How are you going to kill her, Light? You don't have a name and this time the trade's worthless."

"Have you forgotten all the times I outwitted people, Ryuk? I'll trick her into it. It won't take long. She's a woman after all." He had his experience with women and he could not think of one that he had not gotten to trust him. Even Naomi Misora, a former FBI agent who had been wary of Kira, had fallen into his trap.

The shinigami laughed. "If it does take long, you won't win this game."

"Game?"

The door opened and Thorn came through with grocery bags and one shopping bag. With her foot, Thorn kicked the door closed. She spotted Light on the couch and Ryuk in the kitchen. "Hello Ryuk, Ki — Yagami."

"Hi," Light replied, his eyes following her as she walked to the kitchen. Today, she was wearing tall black boots, a black skirt, and a black corset with a purple shirt underneath. She had on fishnet stockings that had rips but he supposed it was some sort of style. The main choice of color, black, was no different from what she had chosen yesterday. Light would have wondered what the inside of her closet looked like if he hadn't bothered searching there for any information.

Thorn put the bags on the counter. She then reached into a bag and pulled out apples to refill the fruit bowl. "I hope you weren't bored, Yagami." Once again, her voice was monotone.

"I wasn't."

"He found other things to do," Ryuk stated.

She looked at Ryuk. "Like what?"

"Ridding the world of criminals," Light replied before Ryuk could say anything about his search. As evidence, he picked up the Death Note and lifted it up by one cover's side. The notebook flipped open and revealed the numerous names he had written since last night.

"You did a lot." Her dark eyes glanced at the television. She started to come back into the living room. "You could have put it on, if you wanted."

Light saw where she was going and beat her to the TV. "Don't worry. I got it."

He pushed the power button and sat back down on the couch.

The TV was already on the news channel. The news anchor was talking about how a young man had saved an old lady and her parakeet from a fire just minutes before the fire department arrived. They showed a picture of the young man holding the bird cage and the old woman thanking him. Light sighed. _Nothing important_, he thought. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Thorn was back in the kitchen, putting food and cans away.

"Thorn?"

She turned around and stared at him expectantly.

"You haven't told me anything about yourself."

"It's only been a day." She leaned against the counter. That was the fourth time in less than twenty-four hours that he had tried to find something out about her and she had put it off. She was paranoid that Yagami would use it against her to his advantage. She was not surprised at how different things were backstage than in the audience. It was much easier to admire from a far than up close. The point was that she was just as open to him as he was to her. She only hoped that he did not find out her true objective before she could finish it. He would kill her.

Thorn got out of her world and looked at Ryuk, who was eying one of the yellow apples. "You can try it, Ryuk. It's not poison."

Ryuk took one and bit it. "It's not as good as the red ones."

"I'll buy more red ones next time."

Ryuk said something but Light ignored the rest of the conversation as he made his way over to the kitchen. She had once again shrugged off his question, refusing to give him an answer. That irked him. He was used to people listening to him as Light as well as Kira. However, she only believed in the latter. "Thorn," he said and touched her shoulder.

That one action had such an immense effect on her body. It suddenly went rigid as her muscles tensed. Light frowned. Suddenly, Thorn pulled away from him and rubbed where he had gripped her, almost like he had hurt her. She turned her back on him as she opened a cabinet and started to put a few cans of beans in. "Please don't touch me, Yagami."

"Did I do something wrong?"

Her eyes dropped to the tiled floor. "No Yagami. I guess you just startled me."

"Startled? You looked frightened for you life."

"Look: I'm not one of your many girls who would fling themselves at you. As a matter of fact, I could care less about men. So don't think your charm will work on me."

Ryuk laughed.

Light wanted to reply to that statement, something along the lines of a subtle insult. However the TV caught his attention by a mention of the simple word 'L'. He looked at the screen, already seeing the letter there. The person started to talk, obviously using a voice changer.

' _. . . Though you are killing criminals in a similar fashion, I know you are not the real Kira. If you've hoped I would have try to hunt you down, I'll tell you now: I have no interest in this case. You're just another twisted murderer and the Japanese police will apprehend you. You're just a mockery of the real Kira.'_

The 'L' disappeared off the screen and was replaced by news reporters.

'_That was an interesting message. Not Kira . . . Well after the last fake, I wonder if this one will quit while he's ahead. . .'_

Light narrowed his eyes. He shouldn't expect any less from Near but that angered him, telling the world that he was a fake. _If I could still remember that bastard's name,_ he thought. He turned toward Thorn, whose eyes had also been glued to the TV. _I need to find hers out too,_ he thought,_ and she only making this difficult. _

"Aren't you going to write that name down?"

He snapped out of it. "What name?"

"Hikaru Shimada. He's been . . . raping women in the local area. The police haven't caught him yet."

He shook his head. "Maybe later," he stated. "I feel in the mood for a shower."

Ryuk frowned. _Is this whole 'L' thing bothering him that much that he's refusing to write in the Death Note? I doubt it. Then what are you up to, Light?_

"Wait." Thorn reached for a bag. She held it out fo him. "Here. In case you want to change into something else. You've been in those pajamas all day, haven't you?"

Light took the bag and looked inside. Despite the kind of clothing she usually adorned, the clothing she choose for him was normal. Instead of black, he saw something white and green. "Thanks," he muttered.

"No problem." She shifted on her feet and her eyes looked at the stove. She did not feel like cooking. In a way, she would be cooking for him and for some reason it pissed her off. She had always cooked for herself whatever she wanted and now she had to find something that he would not mind. ". . . Do you want to go out later on? We can eat out and you can see the city and stuff, maybe stop by the arcade."

"Why?" Light asked, feigning surprised. _This is perfect. I was going to ask her to get out of the house._ _At least this way, I can test my theory without looking suspicious._

Thorn shrugged. "I just feel like getting out."

* * *

For whatever stupid reason, he had agreed. First they had eaten at a fast food restaurant. It had been crowded and noisy. To top it all off, the service was horrible. Some time afterward, she had shown him around the city, pointing out the malls, fancier restaurants, and local hangouts for a majority of college students. Light had seen nothing of interest in any of the places. The only good thing that he would have to say was that he would have rather eaten at one of the restaurants on the tour than the one she had taken him to. Finally, they went to the arcade, the last place on the list. The moment Thorn had gotten inside, she had went to a shooting game. Light, not in the mood of playing games, followed her to whatever one she wanted. It was something called 'Sharpshooter' and it did not sound interesting at all.

Light watched as she put in a few coins into the slot and picked up the plastic pistol. She looked at him and asked if he wanted to play. He declined politely.

He and Ryuk watched her shot her targets on the screen, a few civilians popping up here and there among the terrorists. She was into the game, maybe too into it. She was in her own world now, forgetting that he and Ryuk was even there. By the time she was on level ten, he decided to say something.

"How long will you play for?" He had glanced at his watch; it read nine-fifteen.

Thorn realized that Light and Ryuk had been watching her the whole time. " . . . I don't know. You can play if you want. It's two player." Her voice held no indication whether she meant that or was trying to be polite.

"I rather not." He eyed the screen. "You just shot a civilian."

She paused before firing again. "It was an accident." She heard Light sigh but she didn't look away from the game. _He probably thinks I'm a danger to society now. _

A guy came over and watched her for a while before producing a few coins of his own. "Mind if I join you?"

"Sure. The game was getting harder anyway."

He put the coins inside the slot and picked up the second pistol. He soon joined her in the game.

Light watched the man, seeing how he passing furtive glances in Thorn's direction. He was certain that Thorn was unaware as she perfected her aim to kill the enemies with less rounds. Light had heard when the guy asked if he was her boyfriend. Thorn had given a curt shake of the head. The furtive glances had actually turned into full examinations. Light could know tell that Thorn was feeling nervous as she missed a few of her targets. Her eyes kept glimpsing at the guy to catch him staring.

Ryuk laughed. "Why don't you say you want to go if you're getting annoyed, Light?"

Light did not reply to the shinigami because the guy was within hearing range. _As much as I want to, it's too early to leave._ _But at least I know what bothers her._

Finally the guy said, "It's not often I see a chick playing these games."

"Really?" She missed another enemy, her mind no longer focusing on the game. Her character was reloading and seem to be taking longer than ever before. _Why did I switch to the shotgun?_

The guy continued. "Yeah. To me it's a plus. And I hope that," he reached out for her hand to get her attention. However, Thorn thought a lot worse and immediately elbowed him in the stomach. "What the fuck?" He yelled as he doubled over, catching the attention of several people.

Thorn stared at the guy, wishing she hadn't relied on her instincts. She felt bad but he had that coming. She glanced at the screen and saw that the game was over. Thorn stared at the flashing screen, almost annoyed that she had been so close to ending the game. If this guy hadn't been here then maybe she could have won.

Light grab her wrist. "Let's go."

She followed him, missing the small smirk he wore on his lips. As they stepped out into the cool night, Light released her hand rather quickly. She then believed that he thought that it was now a taboo to touch her. It was not so much the case — she wanted to tell him and he would be the first person she would admit it to but she could not. It was personal to her, not something that she could forget, dreaming about it occasionally at night despite the countless times she tried to bury the thought. As they walked, Light didn't say a word. Figuring that he was mad at her, she treaded the waters lightly. "Yagami?"

"It's all men in general, right?"

It took her a while to know what he meant. "I guess so."

"Was it a boyfriend that did something to you?"

Thorn halted and a second later, Light did as well. He turned around and faced her.

"Are you going to keep prying into my business?"

Light didn't say anything. Then, changing the whole conversation, he said, "Do you mind getting something at the store for me?"

"What?" Thorn thought that the request was out of the blue but thought nothing of it.

"Something with a hood to wear."

She gave him a funny look, not seeing why he'd want something with a hood, before walking away. "Fine."

When she disappeared around the corner, Light reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of the Death Note and a pen. He checked his watch. "Nine-thirty-five," he said. He thought for a while before he scribbled a time onto the paper.

Ryuk laughed. "So that's why you didn't write that criminal's name down. You wanted to use him to come after Thorn. But how is Thorn going to defend herself against an armed man?"

_He's armed?_ Although the fact was new, Light shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'll come and he'll see something that will scare him, Ryuk."

Ryuk grinned. "I guess that's where I come in."

"Ryuk?" The shinigami stared at Light, waiting for his question. Then it came. "What game were talking about that I could lose?"

The shinigami's grin widened. "That's something you'll have to figure out for yourself, Light."

* * *

At nine-forty, Thorn was halfway to the clothing department, deep in thought. Her mind was on her conversation with Light, if it could be counted as one. It had upset her that he had questioned her about it and that he could have pieced it all together. The idea bugged her as well as eased her mind. If he could figure it out, then she wouldn't have to say a word about it. She passed by an alley when she heard a sound. She was about to turn when a knife pressed against her throat.

"Come," someone ordered.

She found herself retreating into the alleyway, her back still facing her attacker. Suddenly she was slammed into the wall. Before she could let out a scream, a gasp of shock, her mouth was covered.

"Don't say a word or I'll cut you."

She closed her eyes tighter as the man squeezed her breast, the handle of the knife pressing against it, as she whimpered quietly. She found herself looking at the face of Shimada. _It's that man from the news. Dammit! _She tried to struggle but couldn't get free. Shimada started to unlace the corset. _No! _She started to kick aimlessly, not really having a target.

"Why don't you stop this shit?" Shimada ordered, becoming more forceful. He rammed his leg between hers and slid it up. Thorn noticed how her leg was between his and took the opportunity to knee him in the ground. He pulled away in pain and she took off. The man recovered faster than she expected and chased after her. She was doing fine until she had to slow down before she ran into a trash can. Those few seconds costed her.

Shimada leaped and tackled her into the floor, knocking the wind out of her. He covered her mouth and jerked her head back, pressing the knife against her throat. "Try that again and I will kill you." His hand left her mouth and roughly pulled down her fishnet stockings, making more holes in them. Soon she heard his belt being unbuckled and she let out a low whimper.

"It's alright," the man soothed. The blade was pushed closer against her neck and he lifted the back of her skirt to reveal her underwear. He grinned. "It won't hurt in the least." He was about to remove her underwear when he heard footsteps coming up ahead. He looked up and saw a young man. "Who are you?"

Thorn looked up and was surprise to see Light standing there. _Yagami . . . this is so humiliating. Anyone else, someone who I don't know, would have been better. I feel even dirtier now that he's seen me like this._

"If you don't leave this place, I kill her," he threatened. He saw Light reach into his pocket and pull out something. "What's that in you hand?"

Light did not answer. Instead, he threw it and Shimada caught it. "Nothing but a crumbled piece of paper."

He heard laughter and saw a monster standing in front of him. The creature grinned. "Humans can really be stupid sometimes."

The man stood there, shocked, then scared. He got off Thorn and ran toward the street. Light casually glanced at his watch. There was one more minute and the man wasn't even halfway down the alley.

Light walked over to Thorn and knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?" She slowly sat up and did not bother to respond. He caught the quivering of her bottom lip and he almost wanted smirk. She was frightened and now he could comfort her, gaining some of her trust. Keeping his smirk hidden, he pulled Thorn against his body. Her face was buried in his shirt and his chin rested on top of her head. His arms were already around her; hers were not.

Ryuk waited to see if she would retaliate because Light was touching her. He was surprised to see her hands grasp the back of Light's shirt. _I guess Light got what he wanted. _Ryuk heard the screeching of a car and then people's screams. _And that must mean that the guy got killed just like how Light planned._

Thorn wanted to look but Light held her head in place. "It's better if you don't look. The guy's pretty messed up."

Somehow, that made her happy to know that. To her, he deserved what had happened to him and she hoped that he was dead. She almost scared herself because of her sense of rage and anger. She never associated those feelings with the justice Kira did. His justice was separating the good from the evil and removing the latter. These feelings, she associated them with revenge.

Light removed his chin and brought her closer. He then fixed the back of her skirt. "That was that Shimada guy from the news," he whispered to himself. It seemed that he had just realized that fact. He glanced down at her. "If I had known this would have happened to you, Thorn, I would have killed him this afternoon. I'm sorry."

Her hands clenched the fabric tighter as if taking her frustration out on the shirt would make everything else so much better. However, that did not work well and so Thorn rested her head on his shoulders for comfort, inhaling his scent. " . . . It's okay, Yagami."

Light heard the sirens. They would have to get out of here soon. But in the mean time, he would be proud that he lured her into a false sense of security with him.

* * *

Near sat on the floor, building his newest structure out of toothpicks. When his subordinates entered the room, he did not pay heed to them. Instead, he continued to build his structure and make it look more intricate. "Is it about another death in Japan by the Kira imposter?"

"Well, it wasn't a heart attack, Near, but it could be him all the same."

Near added another toothpick. "He's more persistant than the other one from three years ago."

"Near, shouldn't you—!"

"I told C-Kira-2 I have no interest in this case and I meant that."

_Rule 4: The owner of this book is not exempt from pain._

**A/N: I read the Death Note one shot and Near refers to the fake Kira in it as C-Kira, aka Cheap Kira. I figured that Near wouldn't believe this is the real Kira because he saw Light die and all. But he'll be believing soon though. Anyway, thanks to badkidoh, knightgirl4jack, and question (?) for reviewing or posting up their comments. Next chapter is called Recognition.**


	3. Chapter 3: Recognition

**A/N: Hello. This chapter would have been posted earlier but I had AP exams to worry about, mainly U.S. History and Physics. Then I started to procrastinate on everything as I indulged myself in games. But here it is after all this time. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 3**

**:Recognition:**

_Rule 5: The owner of this book cannot trade for the shinigami eyes unless he/she is in the possession of a Death Note._

Light woke up. Ryuk across the room floating upside and staring. When the shinigami realized that Light was fully awake, he grinned.

"You slept good, Light?" Ryuk asked.

It was not a serious question but a mere jest at the fact Light had spent the night sleeping in Thorn's bedroom, the normal occupant sleeping on top of him. Therefore Light did not respon. The shinigami knew that he had not done anything with her. He had been strictly comforting her.

Light glanced down at Thorn. She had not suspected that Shimada's death had anything to do with the note. And if the woman could easily fall asleep knowing that she was in his care, than he would have no trouble deceiving her.

"Thorn?" Light said, trying to wake her up.

The girl shifted against his body, making Light feel slightly uncomfortable. He tried again, this time a little louder. "Thorn."

She opened her dark eyes and tilted her head up. She was surprised to find herself staring into brown eyes. Within two seconds, she was off him and sitting on the other side of the bed. Thorn's eyes dashed from Light to Ryuk. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you," she stated.

"It's okay." He had said that with a feigned smile. But now, Light became more serious as he looked at the window. "Where are you going today?"

Thorn was taken back by his straightforwardness and proceeded with caution. "I need to go to Tokyo for an art show. Two of my pieces are on exhibition and I hope to see them."

_So, once again, I can't keep an eye on her, _Light heard a creak and saw that Thorn had gotten off the bed.

"You know," Light started, "I was thinking about going to Tokyo myself since it's my hometown and all. Maybe I should come with you."

"Isn't that slightly moronic of you to say?"

Ryuk laughed. She had said that with such a straight face, too. And now Light was struggling to keep his cool.

"I wasn't planning on running around without disguising myself," he muttered, unable to refrain from glaring. "Without you here, there's nothing for me to really do."

Thorn opened up her closet and started searching through the rack. "It's still risky. Your boredom is the least of our concerns."

"Tokyo is a big city. What are the chances of running into someone who'd recognize me?"

"The world's a small place, Yagami." That was her answer but her mind was saying differently.

_However, it's been five years since Light's death,_ Thorn thought._ Surely not many people know him well to think about him on a constant basis. If they saw him, they might think he was someone else who looks a lot like him. The only people who could realize that it's him would be his family and probably the Task Force . . . if they truly believe that the dead can come back alive._

Thorn pulled a black and white dress out of her closet. She then pulled out a pair of black boots and a pair of black leggings. While she had been putting her outfit together, she had been thinking about Light's request. Finally Thorn faced Light with a change of heart.

"If you really want to, you can come." She started to unlace the corset she had been wearing since the night before. She knew Ryuk's eyes were on her. That did not bother her as much as the fact Light was staring. She wasn't going to kick him out because she still had the purple blouse underneath. However, if he expected to sit there the whole time . . .

As she started to slowly unbutton her shirt, her dark eyes on him, Light decided it was time to leave. "I'll go get ready." He stopped on the way out and faced the shinigami.

"You better leave, too, Ryuk. You don't want Thorn feeling uncomfortable."

Thorn stared at the shinigami. "He can stay. I don't mind him staring as much as you."

Light raised an eyebrow. "I need to talk to Ryuk about something."

"Actually, I was assuming while you take your shower, I could talk to Ryuk."

Light became suspicious. "About what?"

" . . . You." She bent over and picked up her clothes. As much as it killed her, she opened her underwear drawer a bit, pulled out two undergarments, and closed it fast. She quickly hid the items from sight before crossing the room. Light's eyes followed her.

"But, if you really want to talk to Ryuk," she said, grabbing her deodorant, "you can talk to him now while I go take a shower. I don't mind asking him later." _Might as well make him suffer with that idea. _With that, Thorn exited the room and crossed the hallway to the bathroom.

From the bedroom, Light heard the door shut. Light then glanced at the grinning shinigami. "What has she been telling you, Ryuk?"

The shinigami laughed. "Sometimes about herself. Other times, before you were back, questions about Kira."

"What sort of questions?"

Ryuk did not answer for a while. He was contemplating if he should tell him. _If I tell him the right stuff, then this whole game could become more interesting. _

Ryuk stated,"She wanted to know what can of person you were and I told her. I even added that you were a ladies' man, Light. She asked about everything from the time you picked up the Death Note to your death. She said it would help her understand _you _better."

"And what did she conclude?"

Ryuk grinned. "Depends what side she looks at."

"What do you mean, Ryuk?"

"She believes that there are two sides to you, Light."

Before Light could say a word, the door opened and Thorn walked inside, already dressed. She tossed her clothes from last night onto the bed and went over to her dresser to stand in front of the mirror. As she picked up a black lipstick, she glanced into the mirror. Light was giving her an evil look but she did not let it bother her.

"You can go, Yagami," she stated before applying the lipstick on her lips. "I made sure I was fast so we won't miss the train. I expect you to be just as fast."

Light walked out and closed the door behind him. Ryuk moved to be next to Thorn. The woman had started to put on key-shaped earrings. "Ryuk?"

Already expecting a question, Ryuk asked, "What do you want to know now?"

"I know you that there's certain questions you won't answer but you shouldn't mind answering this one."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Does he know, Ryuk?"

* * *

The train ride had been crowded. When they had gotten on, there was only one seat left. Light had almost wanted to take the last seat to spite Thorn though he doubted she'd care much. At the last minute, he allowed her to take it to keep up his nice act. She had taken it without a problem and later, when the woman next to her got off at the next stop, he sat down. The two, for the rest of the ride, sat down in silence. It was not until when they had entered the art gallery that Thorn spoke.

"Please don't attract attention to yourself, Yagami," Thorn told Light.

"I won't. I'm just going to walk around for a bit."

Thorn glanced at Light. He was wearing cargo pants, a black shirt, and a red hooded jacket. In addition, he had on a black hat. She hoped that would be good enough. She wanted to pull the hood up but decided that if he felt that it was necessary, he would do it himself.

As they walked through the halls of the gallery, Light stared at the paintings. Some were beautiful while others were hideous. Some he did not know what to call them. "I didn't know you paint."

"I also work at a gallery closer to my apartment for the extra money. It's nice."

"Where's your stuff?"

"One's right there," she replied and pointed. Light walked over and examined the painting.

It was the weirdest thing he had ever seen. It was some blue creature, if that was what the blur really was, perched on something red. The lines were crazily blurred against the dark background. He raised an eyebrow, trying to look at it from every angle. The painting, his mind could not comprehend. "What is it suppose to be?"

"Me," Ryuk said.

"You're joking, right?" Despite the conversation, his mind was focusing on other things. His brown eyes scanned the painting for Thorn's signature. He found it on the right corner. It read 'Thorn Divine'. _Damn her. She doesn't even use her real name to sign her artwork._

She stared at the painting as if seeing the it for the first time. "It's suppose to be the ugly side of him."

Light came back to reality. "Really?" His reply had came out sarcastic but she acted as if she never caught it.

"I believe there's two sides to every person," she explained. "One's that beautiful and one's that ugly. Kinda like Light Yagami and Kira." She saw someone she knew and walked over, leaving Light scowling.

Ryuk laughed. "I wonder: which one's which?"

Light narrowed his eyes. "She thinks she's so clever using a pseudonym."

Ryuk saw that Light's eyes were on the bottom right corner of the painting. There, in cursive letters, was 'Thorn Divine'. He realized that Light had not wanted to see the painting because he had an interest. He had wanted to see her signature. Ryuk smirked. "Once again, she fooled you."

"L did the same thing to hide his name and I outsmarted him, Ryuk."

"Light?"

He turned around and came face to face with Thorn. Next to her was the woman friend she had gone over to.

"I would like to introduce you to Cho," she said. Light examined Cho. She had wavy brown hair and green eyes. Her glasses were on the bridge of her nose and looked like it could fall off any given time. Her dress and sneakers had paint-splatter patterns all over it. All in all, she made Thorn's darkness seem normal.

Cho stuck her hand out. "I work with Thorn."

Light shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Cho did not let go of Light's hand despite the fact that he wanted it back. "Have you tried modeling before?" She asked. "You're very handsome."

Light grinned sheepishly. "No. I haven't."

"Really?" Cho sounded surprised.

Thorn ignored the conversation for a while. She was certain that by the end of it, Cho would think Light was the best person ever. Ryuk had told her about Light's history with women and she could only thing of two major "flings": the ones with Misa Amane and Kiyomi Takada. One had died and the other had committed suicide on Valentine's Day. It showed how much of a manipulator Light could be. Cho, right now, was proving how charming he could act. Thorn hoped that she would never be that stupid.

"I need a model for this project I'm doing," Cho said. Thorn left her thoughts and came back into the conversation. She realized that Cho had addressed Light and not her.

"I was thinking something like 'The Thinker' meets 'Modernization'." Suddenly, Cho giggled and swayed on the spot. "You have to pose in the nude but I'll pay you in cash, lots of it and—!"

"He's not interested," Thorn interrupted. She did not need an image of Light on display were people could see and recognize him. They would only question Cho and the trail would lead straight back to her. Plus, she did not want to see something based on the anatomy of someone she would see every day. The idea was mortifying.

Cho pouted at Thorn. "I'm pretty sure he can decide for himself."

"Actually, she's right," Light said and scratched the back of his head. "I'm not that confident in my skin."

_Good thing Light isn't an idiot_, Thorn thought.

As the art exposition progressed passed noon, the place got more crowded. She continued to talk to other artists and art lovers about some of the exhibitions while Light wandered around. Ryuk traveled from her to Light and back, listening to some of the conversations and communicating with Light, although he couldn't talk much. As Ryuk was on his way to Light, he saw a member of the Task Force. He grinned and went through people. He found Light studying a sculpture.

"Light."

"What Ryuk?" He replied in a whisper so no else could hear.

"Guess who's here?"

Light frowned and looked around. Then he spotted Touta Matsuda far away. _Are you kidding me?_ He glanced around and spotted another Task Force member, Hideki Ide, coming in his direction. Light turned away and waited for Ide to pass by. _How many are around here?_

"Ryuk, where's Thorn?"

"She's in the center of that crowd."

Light looked at where Ryuk was pointing. Thorn, standing next to Cho, was part of a group flocked around a painting. He could hear that there was a debate going on. He started to make his way over there.

Cho raised her hands to get her fellow artists' attention. "Okay. But, I still disagree with you." She pointed at a section of the painting. "See these strokes? There are so obviously Van Gogh-esque."

"But look at the color scheme!"

Thorn was about to say something when someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the crowd. She came face to face with Light. She studied his face, seeing his slight scowl, and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Let's leave."

"Why?"

"What do you think?"

Ryuk laughed. "A few of the Task Force are here."

Thorn looked at Cho. The woman would not notice that she missing until twenty minutes had went by. Later, Thorn would owe her friend an explanation. She sighed and faced Light. "Yagami, we can go."

Thorn and Light headed toward the exit. They were almost out when Matsuda spotted them. Quickly, he caught up to them and tapped Thorn's shoulder. The woman turned around, completely surprised. Matsuda held out a pen and notepad in one hand and scratched the back of his head sheepishly with the other. "Someone told me one of you artwork is on display and I was wondering if I could have your autograph. You never know who might become famous at one of these things."

Thorn took the implements and started to write her signature.

Ryuk chuckled. "He's one of them."

Thorn's dark eyes opened wide and she looked at Matsuda. He was already making a weird expression at Light. She made a slight grimace. _Why did we have to run into this guy?_

Matsuda frowned and scratched his chin. "Have we met before? You look kinda familiar."

Before Light could answer, Thorn cut in. "That's funny," she said, though she did not smile. "He's not from around here. I'm showing him around for a friend of mine."

She stuck out the notebook and pen toward Matsuda. Then she gave the man a small smile. _Even if he doesn't believe me. As long as he doesn't make that small connection, I'm good. _When she noticed that Matsuda's eyes were on her and not focused on Light, she became less tense. "Here."

He took it back. "Thank yo—!" Before he could finish his statement, Thorn took off with Light. At first Matsuda thought it was weird. However, he stopped thinking about it and shrugged.

So far, she was doing a good job avoiding people as she pulled Light around various groups and crowds. She supposed she should have slowed down but something was urging her to run faster. If she did not, everything she did not want to happen would happen. Then her stomach twisted when she crashed into older woman who had been walking with her younger companion. Ryuk laughed as Thorn and the older woman fell on the steps.

Thorn stared at the woman. The lady has streaks of gray but the brown tints were still there. The face was slightly wrinkled as well. The woman must have been in her late fifties. She would have rather bump into a much younger person. "Sorry," Thorn stated, wishing she had put more emotion into that apology.

After looking at Light's face, Ryuk was laughing harder.

Thorn looked up at the shinigami. _Why is Ryuk laughing so hard? _She then glanced at Light and saw his expression. His brown eyes were on the older woman's female companion. Thorn noticed that her eyes were on Light. _Does she know Yagami?_

As if an answer, Light grabbed Thorn's arm and roughly pulled Thorn to her feet. _Out everyone I could run into, I have to see Sayu and my mother_, he thought and wondered if he could be even more led Thorn around the two people, seeing that Sayu was still staring at him. _Shit. _He then started running, pulling Thorn along. It wasn't long before he heard a shout.

"Sayu! Where are you going?"

Thorn looked and saw that 'Sayu' was coming after them, running as fast as she could. She looked as if she was about to cry.

"Yagami." Thorn faced front and saw the traffic light ahead was about to turn green. The street Light wanted them to cross was about to be flowing with speeding cars. What made it all worse was that light was not stopping. Instead he was running faster and she was surprised that she could keep up. "Are you insane?"

"Funny you should ask that," Ryuk said.

Light ignored the shinigami. "We'll lose her this way."

The moment their feet hit the road, the adjacent traffic light turned red. Three seconds later, the traffic light overhead turned green. In another two seconds, they found themselves on the sidewalk. Light stopped running, giving time for Thorn to catch her breath, and looked back. Across the street, on the other side of the ongoing cars and trucks, Sayu stared helplessly. Their mother was catching up to her.

Light looked back at Thorn. Her dark eyes were on him. "Subway?" She asked through short breaths.

"Yeah."

Light quickly turned away and started walking away, already blending into the crowd. Thorn, however, stayed a little longer and gazed at the woman across the street. Sayu was silently crying, her mother trying to find out what was wrong. Thorn wondered if she was related to Light ins some way. Maybe a sister, she thought. But Thorn could not dwell on such unimportant matters for the traffic light would soon be red, and she too disappeared into the crowd, already spotting the shinigami.

* * *

Light walked into the apartment first, throwing his jacket and had onto the couch. Thorn came in right afterward, pulling her key out the door. As the last person to enter, she closed the door behind them.

"Whoever that girl was, she probably recognized you."

"Don't worry. She can't speak or else she would have said my name."

"Is she one of your ex's?"

"A sister."

"Oh." Thorn unstrapped her boots and slipped them off. She put them against the wall by the door. Already, Ryuk was in the kitchen, eating an apple; he had been suffering withdrawal symptoms all morning. Light was in the living, the Death Note in his hands. He was sitting on the couch, staring at it. Thorn came and sat on the arm of the couch, causing Light to look up. "Are you going to kill Matsuda?"

"Not yet. I know that once Near knows I'm back, he'd rather rely on the old Task Force members to help him rather than someone who has no experience with Kira. In that case, it would be easier for me to find them in a crowd." He put the TV on and searching for a channel that the news was being broadcasted on.

"Unless they disguise themselves."

"By then, I'll have the shinigami eyes."

Thorn narrowed her eyes. "Really . . . why not make the trade now?"

Light looked at the woman. Then he quickly looked at the TV screen, his smirk appearing. "Does that bother you?"

"No, it doesn't." Thorn eyed the shinigami and Ryuk shrugged. _He wouldn't tell Yagami, would he? If he did then my time is slowly limited. That means get rid of Light before I get want I want or wait. But for how long?_

"Thorn?"

"Yeah?"

"I need Near to know that I'm alive."

"Why?"

"You'll see. But first you need to bring back Misa Amane. She'll be the messenger."

_Interesting choice, Light, _Ryuk thought to himself. _Considering how much you couldn't stand her._

_Rule 6: Shinigami cannot be revived._

**A/N:** **Thanks to badkidoh, Nyeh, and animalgun for reviewing. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner. :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Messenger

**A/N: Sorry that I hadn't updated for a while. I had SATs last weekend and I had to work on my critical reading because I'm not as great as I could be (shocking, huh?). Anyway, I've been working on this chapter and the ones ahead (contemplating Ch. 6), so those will be up much quicker. After Monday, my school has testing weeks, so I'll be home most of the time. That way, I could dedicate more time to my stories. Besides all that, here's the overdue post.**

**CHAPTER 4**

**:The Messenger:**

_Rule 7: The owner of this book will lose their memories once he/she gives up ownership. However, this rule is neglected if the person has the possession of a Death Note._

Thorn unlocked the door to her apartment. It creaked open. Wondering if Misa or Light heard the creak, Thorn stopped moving instantly. When no one came to investigate the seemingly loud noise, she closed the door and tiptoed down the hallway toward her bedroom.

Before dawn, Light and Thorn had revived Misa Amane. And since then, Thorn had felt it had been a mistake. The woman, for one, was obsessed with Light. That much was obvious from the way she had pounced on him the moment she had seen him. And when he reminded her that he was Kira, she had practically drooled from infinite adoration. And for a second thing, Thorn could not spend the night in her apartment. Apparently, Misa did not like it when other women were near "her" Light. Thorn remembered that at one point in her teenage years, she had admired Misa Amane and wanted to be like her. Now, after meeting the once-model in person, Thorn wondered what had possessed her to have such thoughts.

Thorn reached the wall and pressed herself against it, trying to be discreet and stealthy. Then she moved against the wall as she neared her room. She was less than two feet away when she heard Misa through the door.

"Oh_, Light._"

Thorn frowned as she moved closer. Was that what she thought it was? Maybe Kira really had been bored the last few days. That was understandable but on _her _bed? She had to draw the line somewhere. Then she heard a light chuckle next to her.

"I was wondering if you'd come."

Thorn turned around and saw a grinning Ryuk. Worried that the shinigami wouldn't care that she wanted to be stealthy and would give her presence away, Thorn walked back to the kitchen as silent as possible. Although she did not bump into anything, the floor creaked just as loud in the dead silence. It made her wonder if everything became louder in the quietness. "Did you tell Yagami?" She whispered once she reached the kitchen.

"About what?"

"You know what, Ryuk."

"About your plan?"

Thorn nodded and rubbed her temples. "Because of this Misa-Misa, I'm a day behind in my schedule. I want to eliminate Yagami before he could eliminate me. But I can't do that until I fully understand him."

Ryuk's grin grew. "Both sides?"

"Yeah." Even before Light's resurrection, she had considered acting as Kira. However, she doubt that she could keep up with the "god" image set by Light. The difficulty of this was proven by the fake "Kira" from three years ago who decided that killing off old people was justified. From everything Ryuk had told her, Light would have been a "god" if he had not made so many careless errors in the way he dealt with Near. Thorn figured that if she understood Light and the way his mind worked, she could manage to think in the same manner and never be caught. The whole analysis should not take her more that two weeks, she hoped. Two weeks to understand Kira and Light Yagami. Even less than that should be fine; every day, Thorn felt that she was sinking too fast, in danger of screwing up.

She looked up when the bedroom door opened.

"Bring the syrup!" Joy.

"Sure." No interest whatsoever to comply to the woman's wishes.

"Yay! Misa-Misa likes syrup!" Ignorant of the tone of voice used.

Light closed the door and headed toward the kitchen. He spotted Thorn and Ryuk there. "You were noisy coming in."

Thorn's dark eyes followed him as he moved across the kitchen. Candidly, she asked, "Is the syrup for a sex game?"

Light leaned against the kitchen counter and folded his arms. "You say it so bluntly. Is that why you're here? To see what's going on?"

"No. I don't want any weird stuff happening on my bed."

"Like what?"

"Like using that syrup to douse each other in."

Light almost laughed. "You actually believe that I would do something like that with Misa:? You have a very 'creative' mind."

"An artist needs to be very creative, Yagami."

Light smirked and reached for a brown bag on behind the fruit bowl. "That's good. You need to be for tomorrow."

He tossed her the bag and Thorn caught it. She then opened it and pulled out an earpiece. She stared at it before her eyes landed on Light. "What am I suppose to do with it?"

"Tomorrow Misa's going to try to convince the Task Force that I'm the real Kira. I'll have a microphone placed on Misa. Through that earpiece, you'll hear everything Misa will be saying as well as others around her. When you think enough's been said, you can get rid of her. I already told Misa except for the part about you. She believes that I'll be listening instead."

Thorn examined the earpiece, turning it this way and that way.

"I'm working tomorrow," she said indifferently.

Light shrugged. "Misa will take the noon train to Tokyo. That should give you enough time to come up with some excuse for leaving early."

From down the hallway, Misa yelled, "Light, what's taking you so long?"

Light's eyes narrowed before he shouted, "I'm still looking for the syrup!"

"Hurry! The ice cream is melting."

Thorn frowned. "Ice cream?"

Light turned around and started searching the cabinets. "Yeah. The thing we want to 'douse' the syrup in. But for all we know, the ice cream could be just for another sex game."

Ryuk chuckled.

Thorn narrowed her eyes. "Do you think I'm that stupid?"

Light, after opening most of the cabinets in the kitchen, finally spotted the syrup. "What do you think?"

The bedroom door opened the minute Light grabbed the syrup. Misa was coming down the hallway. "Light?"

Light looked at Thorn. "Leave," he whispered before he walked into the hallway. He put an arm around Misa and directed her away from the kitchen before she could see Thorn.

"Oh, Misa sees that you found some, Light."

"Yeah." The bedroom door closed behind the two.

Thorn moved quickly toward the door, not caring how much noise she made. Misa could hear her for all she cared. "I better go, Ryuk."

"Are you going to trail Misa tomorrow?" The shinigami asked.

"I'll think about it."

* * *

Thorn had thought about all night and so the next day, after coming up with an excuse to get out of work, Thorn boarded the same train as Misa. The train arrived in Tokyo thirty minutes after twelve. When the doors opened, Thorn waited for Misa get off the train first before stepping onto the platform herself. She looked around before spotting the blonde moving in the crowd. Then she followed.

Thorn remembered when she had arrived at the train station after getting away from work. She had seen Light saying goodbye to Misa. Light had seen her but Misa hadn't because her back had been turned. It was at that moment that Thorn had seen a red gleam in Light's eyes as he smirked. She hoped that it had been a trick of the light or else that would mean she was missing something. Especially if the look was directed at her.

Thorn ducked around the corner and peered around the building. Misa was skipping to the Task Force Headquarters. _She's wired, right?_ Thorn though, pulling out the earpiece. She fixed it around her ear, hiding it under her hair Then she turned it on.

Misa was humming a song. Thorn had never heard it before and wondered if she made it up. The tune sounded as if there were words to it. Whatever song it was, it sounded dark and apprehending. Finally, the words Thorn assumed that were there were sung.

"_Careful what you do,_

_Cause God is watching your every move . . ."_

* * *

"But I am Misa Amane!" The blonde cried.

The desk clerk shook his head. "Look, I'm sorry. Even if you were 'Misa Amane' back from the grave, I can't let you in here unless you have a scheduled appointment."

Misa pouted. How could she deliver her message for Light if these clerk guys wouldn't let her pass? She wanted Light to love her more and to do that, she needed to persuade the men to let her meet with former members of the Task Force. She placed her hands on her hips, willing to be persistant. "But I have important information on the Kira case!"

From behind, someone asked, "You do?"

Misa turned around and saw Matsuda and Mogi. "Hi!"

Matsuda stared, wondering why the girl said 'Hi' as if she knew them. He had to admit, the girl looked awfully familiar. "Um, who are you?" He hoped the mention of a name would jolt his memory.

"Misa-Misa! How can you forget?"

Matsuda scratched the back of his head, his eyebrows raised. The girl, who looked so serious, had to be joking. Now that the girl had said Misa-Misa, he could see a small resemblance inthe blonde hair and blue eyes. Hell, the two looked exactly alike. But Misa Amane had committed suicide four years ago.

Mogi cleared his throat and said what was on Matsuda's mind. "The real Misa Amane is dead."

"She used to be but then Kira brought me back to life! Of course, Kira is back, too. That's why he sent me here, to tell you. He said that you'd only believe that if you saw a person who is _suppose _to be dead."

"I'm still having a hard time believing this," Matsuda stated.

Misa placed her hands on her hips and grinned. "I'll prove it!"

* * *

Thorn listened to the woman's rants about a "Matsui" and Yotsuba and shinigami and "L". She was sitting on a bench not far from the Task Force Headquarters, glad that Misa was still in the lobby. Any movements to the upper floors, she would have to go inside the building to keep in hearing range. Such a measure would have only made Thorn look suspicious.

'_. . . And, uh, oh, there was Near . . .'_

Thorn reached into her bag and pulled out her brown book. Then she searched her bag for a pen. _How long do I have to wait until they believe her? _Thorn asked herself. _Yagami made this sound so easy, claiming that I'd know when. I wish Ryuk was here. _Now armed with a pen, Thorn flipped through the book, until she spotted the page with Misa's name. She stared at it before placing the tip of the pen near the page.

'_Um, there was that one time when . . .'_

Thorn sighed. Matsuda and that other man weren't going to believe Misa no matter what she said. They needed hardcore evidence like some DNA. Thorn sighed. _How am I going to tell Misa to do that? There has to be some other way . . . What would Yagami do?_

Thorn thought about the situation, thinking about the consequences of all her possible options. She fought between waiting for Misa to convince them and making the rash decision of crossing Misa's name out before that could happen. Then something clicked in her mind. "Autopsy?" She said out loud to herself. At first it sounded brilliant but she shook her head. _No. Autopsy is used to find the cause of death, not the identity of the person. This is taking to long._

'_You know what, check my grave! It's empty! Or match my fingerprints to the one you have on file! You know, the ones taken from when you rudely accused me of being the second Kira!'_

Realizing that she simply didn't have that the necessary patience, Thorn crossed out Misa's name. Then she closed the book, the pen between the pages, and placed it back into her bag. She got off the bench and headed for the subway. On the way there, she heard an ambulance go by.

* * *

Near sat on the floor, still working on his toothpick structure. This time, he was working with one hand; the other held a cell phone. He had been trying to call the old members of the Task Force for a while now. However, their cells kept ringing until Near hung up or was cut off. He was about to hang up for the umpteenth time when he caught Aizawa's voice. Near stacked another toothpick.

"Aizawa. This is L. Out of curiosity, how's the Kira case going?"

"We have a prime suspect but it seems incredible for me to believe. But all the evidence points in that direction. After dealing with shinigami . . ."

Near narrowed his eyes. "Who's the person?"

There was a slight hesitation on the other end. "Light Yagami."

Near dropped the toothpick he was holding, almost knocking over a section of his toothpick structure. He did not know what to say for a while. Then he picked the toothpick up and continued his project. "Light Yagami is dead. The shinigami wrote his name in the Death Note. We were all there, Aizawa."

"I know. But then, Misa Amane was dead, too."

"Misa Amane?"

"Today, a woman came to headquarters claiming to be her. At first, Matsuda and Mogi thought it was just a ruse. But after what she said about the Kira case, it seemed somewhat credible. Not too long afterward, she died. The autopsy shows that she died naturally. That's not why we're sure it's Misa though. What confirms that fact is that her fingerprints match Misa Amane's perfectly. And since everyone's fingerprints are different . . ."

Near sat in silence. If it really was Light Yagami, someone else must be involved. Chances were, considering the murders and Light's grave site, the accomplice had to be in Japan. But the dead couldn't come back to life. That fact of life was bothering him greatly.

"Near?"

The white-haired man came back to reality. "Aizawa, checked the graves of Light Yagami and Misa Amane for their bodies. If they're there, then your suspicions are incorrect. However, if they're gone, then I might have to think about this carefully."

"Got it, L." Aizawa hanged up.

Near's eyes were on the ground. _If Light Yagami is alive, this will be difficult. He could be anywhere in Japan. He might not be there at all. The only way to find him is if he slips up._ Near's hand trembled as he tried to put another toothpick on top. When the toothpick made contact with the rest of the structure, the structure collapsed. He glanced at the fallen toothpicks before standing up. He walked over to a desk and pulled out one of the drawers. He reached in and removed a small toy labeled 'Kira'.

* * *

Thorn walked into her apartment at around six o'clock. The TV was blaring and all the lights had been turned on. Thorn had to reduce the volume of the TV, which was too unbearable. She turned around and saw Ryuk in the kitchen gnawing on an apple core. The fruit bowl where all the apples had been was empty. Thorn frowned and made her way over. "It's all done already? I must have bought at least a dozen."

"It's been empty since last night and Light said he wasn't going to buy any."

"Where is he?"

Before the shinigami could answer, Light came out of the bathroom a towel around his waist. Thorn stared, examining him. "Wow," she stated, almost unable to say the word. "You do have the body of a god."

Light wouldn't have noticed her if she had kept quiet. Now he looked at her, his eyebrows raised. He had been taken back by her candid comment. It had been something unexpected, something he would not think Thorn would say. "Really?"

Thorn's eyebrows furrowed for she just realized what had left her mouth. However, she shrugged off the momentary shock. "I was expecting something different. That's all."

"Why did it take you so long?" Light asked.

"Did you know I could have killed Misa Amane a lot quicker than I did?"

"Yeah. I did. I would have killed Misa the moment she told enough about the Kira case. Then the officers would try to match her fingerprints with the ones on her file. Knowing Misa, she would have said all that she knew in within three minutes. I figured that you'd figure that out. But I guess this proves that you're not much smarter than Misa."

Thorn snorted and headed into the steaming bathroom. Then she slammed the door behind her, obviously offended by the comparison between her and Misa.

At this Light smirked. He was proud that he had managed to push her buttons. It wasn't an easy task. But simply remarking that she probably had the same intelligence level as Misa had been enough to do the trick. He looked at Ryuk. "Why don't you go talk to her, Ryuk? She might just tell you something."

_What is he up to now? _Ryuk asked himself.

"Don't think I'm going to talk to her because of you. In fact, I wanted to talk to her myself." The shinigami passed through the door.

* * *

Thorn closed her eyes as the hot water cascaded through her scalp and down her body. What had she been thinking when she made that comment? Not like she would take it back; it wasn't in her nature to do so. Did saying that elated Light somehow, just knowing that he had some affect over her similar to the influence he had on Takeda and Amane? She bit her lip at the suggestion. If the idea was true, then she was in trouble. Now she realized that while she had been slow in her movements, he had been making decisions quickly and sufficiently. And after four days, where did she stand in terms to his progress?

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a silhouette through the shower curtains. She quickly looked up and identified it as the shinigami's. She relaxed and said, "Ryuk . . . why are you in here?"

"No reason. Just curious about something."

" . . . What?"

"That comment you made."

Thorn narrowed her eyes."What about it?"

"Are you interested in Light by any chance?"

"There's no point in being interested in someone who'd only use you and show no interest back, right? He'd have no qualms about killing me so I should have no qualms about killing him."

Ryuk grinned. He knew that just on the other side of the door, Light was listening. And somehow, just from this conversation, he was formulating a plan.

_Rule 8: A revived person is given the life-span they would have had if their death had not occur. _

**A/N: And that's it. Chapter 5 will be shorter so I'll post that one with the short Chapter 6. Thanks to badkidoh and DarkDemonTwins for reviewing. Till the next update.**


	5. Chapter 5: Deceit

**A/N: I did a double-post today. I hope Chapters 5 and 6 are good. They're not long chapters and I'm sure I could have combined them into one but they make more sense separate. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 5**

**:Deceit:**

_Rule 9: A person cannot be revived if 1) their original life-span has ran out or 2) their name has been crossed out._

"What are you looking for?" Ryuk asked.

Since the time Thorn had left for work, Light had been acting strange. First, he had sat on the couch in thought. TV was on the news channel but he had muted it to be alone with his thoughts. He had sat like this for a while until he had decided to get up. Now, he was opening cabinets and searching through them.

When Light did not answer, Ryuk had to break the silence. "I doubt she put her personal information in there," he said, believing that was what Light was searching for.

"I could care less about that." Light took out a bottle of wine and placed it on the counter. Next to it, he placed a bottle of liquor.

Ryuk watched in amusement. It was almost a week since Light had been brought back from the dead. The shinigami had thought that Light would have figured out Thorn's real name by now. However, the man hadn't. And now, Ryuk believed that Light was drowning his disappointment in alcohol.

"Are you that depressed, Light?"

"It's for Thorn." Light surprised Ryuk when he pulled out a package of frozen chicken out of the freezer. He looked at the time and saw that it was only ten in the morning. Surely he should have enough time to wait for the chicken to defrost and cook it before Thorn came back. If not, then he'd speed up the defrosting process.

Light wasn't going to let Ryuk in on what he was planning. For all he knew, the shinigami might let something slip to Thorn and that would ruin everything.

* * *

Thorn stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for her floor.

She was thinking about the new painting she had started today. The painting was different from all the others. It had brighter colors than her previous works, creating a happier mood in any room in was placed in. It was only half done though; she hoped to finish by tomorrow and put it on display in the gallery. Maybe an art inspector would come by and consider it good enough to be placed in an art show. That thought made her smile.

She stepped off the elevator and made her way down the hallway to her apartment. Before she could use her keys, the door swung open. "Yagami?"

Light stood there, dressed in a suit. Behind him, the lights were out except for a soft glow coming from the kitchen. Thorn glanced at Light, not understanding what he was up to. He was smiling a bit which made her feel apprehensive. When he swiftly moved behind her and covered her dark eyes, she was even more wary.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

Light purposely moved closer and whispered in her ear, "Trying to impress you."

Shivers ran down Thorn's spine as she took deeper breaths to calm herself down.

Ryuk chuckled. _I thought his charm doesn't work on you, Thorn?_

Thorn found herself being led down the hallway. She had no choice but to trust Light's guidance. She heard a door open and she was led inside, possibly, her bedroom. Then Light uncovered her eyes and she saw that was where they were. She gave him a funny look but he shrugged it off.

"Put something nice on. I'll be waiting for you in the kitchen." After saying what he needed to say, Light walked out.

Thorn stood there, her eyes still on the door. She wondered why Light was being nice to her. Even more, she wondered what he had in store for her. She was feeling extremely cautious up to the point she was questioning herself if she was being too cautious. Light probably was up to nothing really but the story about Misa Amane tugged at the back of Thorn's mind.

Thorn opened her closet and decided that for now, she would go along with the "dinner date".

* * *

Light was sitting at the small kitchen table when Thorn arrived. For once, she was not wearing black; she adorned a red dress that stopped above her knees. From the look on her face, Light knew that she considered this outfit to be too bold of a statement. He examined her realizing how different she looked in red. For some reason, she appeared more curvy but he supposed it was the way the dress fitted that gave the illusion.

Thorn's eyes settled on the food on the table and then on the single candle. "Is this fine?"

It took Light a while to realize that she was talking about the dress. "Yeah. It is."

Light quickly stood up and pulled out Thorn's chair. She muttered a quick "thank you" and sat down. Light went back and sat across from her. Then he picked up the wine bottle and poured some in his glass. He was about to pour some wine for Thorn but she shook her head.

"No thanks."

Light raised an eyebrow_. Is she serious?_

"You don't drink?" He casually asked.

"Sometimes I do. I just don't feel for it today."

"You sure not even a little? Just for the occasion."

"What's the occasion?" Thorn asked, feeling more apprehensive.

The shinigami stared at Light. _That is a good question. What **is** the occasion?_

Light didn't answer right away, trying to choose his words careful. Suddenly, he reached and clasped Thorn's hand in his. He looked into her eyes and managed to hide his smirk. "I want to thank you for everything you've done for me up to this point. And . . . I'm glad I met a woman like you. You're nothing like some of the women I've dealt with in the past."

Ryuk noticed that he wasn't the only one surprised. Thorn was too and it was beginning to show clearly on her face. The shinigami was even more surprised when Light lifted her hand off the table and kissed the back of it. The blush rose to Thorn's cheeks. Suddenly Ryuk smirked. _Of course. Now it's beginning to make sense._

Light took the bottle and poured some wine into Thorn's glass. She was about to say something but he beat her to it. "One glass won't be too much for you, right?"

Thorn looked at the red liquid. "No," she replied and took a small sip of the wine.

Light smirked before drinking some from his own glass. _I wonder how many glasses she'll need to get drunk._

* * *

Ryuk watched the two on the couch together.

The candle had been blown out and all the lights had been put on. Light placed his fourth glass of wine on the center table. Ryuk could tell that he was still sober. He was acting like himself. Thorn, on the other hand, was not. She was more open, more flirtatious, more giggly than the shinigami could ever remember. No longer reserved, Thorn was saying all sorts of things. She talked about her family for starters: about her older brother who now lived in America, her parents' divorce, and other facts. She had just finished talking about her life and when Kira came into it.

The woman tossed her head back on the couch and ran her hand through her hair, sighing in content. She glanced at Light before sitting straighter. "Is all the wine gone?"

"There's a little left in the bottle," Light responded, his eyes on her. "You want the rest?" The woman nodded and he poured the rest into her glass. Thorn picked the wine glass up and took two gulps before placing the glass, now empty, on the table.

Thorn sighed and glanced at him. "You know, you really are an impressive man."

"You think so?"

Thorn smiled and moved in closer. Light took notice and realized that she must be drunk enough. Now he was waiting for the opportune moment to pose his question. As drunk as she might be, she must have retained enough common sense to see what would be blatantly wrong.

"Out of all the men I've came across, I'm probably attracted to you the most. Maybe it's because you're Kira, Yagami."

_Perfect. _

"Call me Light."

"Sure," Thorn said.

Light suddenly caressed her cheek and turned to face her a bit more. "Is it possible to call you by your name? Your real name?"

She stared at him, slightly confused.

Ryuk grinned. He had given Light a week to pull this off and now it looked like he was about to do it. Since day one, Light had been plotting to find out her name. His first attempt failed; she had removed any information that would expose her identity. Even her painting contained a pseudonym. He had spent time since day two to gain her trust. It was evident that he had when this charade of a dinner date worked well; it distracted Thorn from realizing how much alcohol she was consuming. The compliments only added to the distraction.

Ryuk waited for Thorn's reply.

"If you want to know that badly."

Light smirked.

* * *

Thorn woke up, discovering that she was on her bed. She touched her head, feeling a migraine coming fast. At first she tried to remember what had happened the night before. Then she remembered the amount of alcohol she had consumed. Thorn realized that she must had had too much to drink and that it caused a rare hangover. Reluctantly, despite what her body wanted, she got off the bed and walked over to her dresser. There she picked up a bottle of aspirin.

_What did I do last night? _She asked herself, trying to remember. _Light isn't that type of guy, right?_

"Morning."

She turned around and saw Light standing in the doorway, Ryuk grinning behind him.

"Morning," she replied. She was uneasy; Light seemed to be in a better mood than usual. Her dark eyes landed on the glass of water in his hand. "Is that for me?" She asked, approaching the man.

"Yeah," Light smirked. "I figured that you might need it, Amaya. You seemed pretty drunk last night and Ryuk said that you have aspirin in your room."

Thorn clasped the glass but never took it from Light. Instead, she stared at him, her heart pounding faster within the cramped cavity within her chest. "What did you call me?"

"Your name is Amaya, right? Amaya Kusonoki?" Light saw the surprised look on her face and knew that it was indeed her real name.

He released the glass. "Maybe you should get ready for work. Before you're late."

Thorn swallowed. "Why don't you kill me now?"

At this, Light smirked. "I want you to live your final moments in torment."

Thorn started to back up, her mind going to the Book of Existence. If she was discreet, she could easily get it and get rid of him. There was no way she was going to die like this. She refused to believe it. However, Light said:

"It's not there. I have both the note and the book. You can't win at this point, _Amaya_."

Ryuk laughed. _Too bad it's over, Thorn. I was hoping the game would have kept going a little bit longer. But you let your guard down and Light deceived you. I guess you weren't smart enough to beat Kira._

_Rule 10:_ _When a previously revived person dies of natural causes, their name will disappear from the pages of this book. Their name can be rewritten and therefore he/she can be revived a second time._

**A/N: So the game ends. Anyway, thanks to badkidoh and GBAgentOtaku for reviewing. Hopefully I can post Chapter 7, which will be the normal length of my other chapters, next week. And I'm sorry if I made Light too evil in the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6: Death and Rebirth

**CHAPTER 6**

**:Death and Rebirth:**

_Rule 11: A person, following previously stated rules, can be revived a maximum of two times._

_I'm such a fool. I trusted that bastard. And now, he's going to kill me and I won't even see it coming._

Thorn was making her way to work, her mind in shambles. She had lost alright and she was about to die. She could die anytime – maybe now as she walked, maybe at her job, maybe in her apartment after work. Every moment seemed like an opportune one for her to collapse from a heart attack. Every ticking of her wrist watch seemed to mark her time of death. The thought about dying tortured Thorn because that would be the end for her. She did not want to die; she was not ready to.

She walked into the gallery and nearly bumped into Cho.

"Morning," the brunette said cheerfully.

"Morning," Thorn merely repeated.

She walked into one of the back rooms and took a white art coat off a wall hook. She put it over her clothes and then rushed over to grab the paint and a pallet. Thorn walked over to her unfinished painting and sat down on a stool. Then she got to work.

The next hour or so passed like a blur; the woman could not recall much of what she did for she was that absorbed in her work. Thorn remembered dipping her brush into the black ink and then a different color, mixing the two, and then applying the new color to the canvas. She looked at each separate section as its own painting and worked on it. She even redid the sections she had worked on the day before. She was in her own world, forcing all her troubles and thoughts to the back of her mind. Time continued to go by unnoticed.

Cho walked into the room. "Whoa. That's a huge transformation from yesterday."

Thorn turned around. "What do you mean?"

"Yesterday, it was all 'happy'. Now it's just sort of depressing. There's so many dark colors."

Thorn looked back at the painting and saw what her friend had meant. The once blue sky had a gray tint to it and there were more clouds. The bright painting had became dark, reflecting her state of mind. Even in her own escape and love, Light could find her some way to haunt her.

Thorn took the canvas off the stand and threw it into the garbage.

"I didn't say it was bad," Cho said, feeling that she said something wrong. She moved aside so Thorn could get by.

"I don't want to see it," Thorn stated. "It's crap."

* * *

After work, Thorn took the long way home to prolong the inevitable. However, she felt that she arrived at the apartment complex too soon. She stared at the tall looming building, realizing that this was the last time she'd see it. She walked inside and went to the elevator. Then she pushed the button, waiting for it to arrive. The elevator doors opened and she walked in, pressing the button for her floor. She remembered that it was only yesterday she had taken this elevator ride to her deception.

A sense of dread filled Thorn as she opened the door to her apartment. Already, Light was leaning against the wall waiting for her. In his hand was the Death Note. Seeing the notebook reminded her of the current predicament. Thorn bit her lip and walked inside. "Hello, Yagami."

"Hello, Thorn," Light said, watching the woman close the door.

Ryuk stood in the background, silently watching and grinning.

Thorn slowly approached Light, keeping her dark eyes on the owner. He watched her, a smug smirk tugging on his lips. Immediately, Thorn could feel anger building up and clenched her fists. If there was a way to get out of this, she would attack the man.

Suddenly, Light laughed. "Tell me: how long did you think our game was going to last?"

"A lot longer than this." _That bastard's actually enjoying this_, Thorn bitterly thought.

"What were you planning? I want to know before you die."

So Thorn told him, just to keep living a little longer. She started from the time she found the book, about how Ryuk appeared some time after with Death Note for her, how she searched to find out who Kira was. She mentioned that as much as she initially hated Kira, she had realized that the world would be better off with one and that therefore she should become Kira. She went on, telling her where he, Light Yagami, fitted into all this. She continued until there was nothing left to say.

Thorn looked away, glancing at Ryuk. "Yagami, am I being controlled by the notebook right now?"

Light smirked. "Not completely. Though in the next minute, you'll bring me the book without crossing my name out."

"But this morning, you said—!" Suddenly, Thorn felt that she was forced out of her body.

"I lied," Light stated.

Thorn felt that she was in a dream. She watched herself move pass Light and enter her bedroom. She watched as she pushed the bed over and got down the floor. She watched as her hands removed a floorboard and reached for the book. Then she couldn't stop herself from handing the book over to Light.

Light laughed. That was the last thing Thorn heard as she fell to the floor.

Ryuk came by to look at the body. "6:35 PM – after handing the book over, Amaya Kusonoki dies of a heart attack . . . Hm, no 'commits suicide', Light? I thought that was your favorite sort of death."

"Not this time, Ryuk." Light put on his shoes and stooped down next to Thorn's body. He reached into her pocket and took out her apartment keys. _I better hide this book, _he thought. Light turned around and faced the shinigami. "Ryuk, I want to make the trade."

* * *

"_So Kira killed Takada afterward, Ryuk?"_

"_He did. Does that bother you?"_

"_I don't get it. She was helping him in any way she could. She was in love with him, too, right? Wouldn't he try to save—!"_

"_He didn't want any evidence left. He was more concern for himself. Takada could be easily discarded."_

Thorn's eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Ryuk hovering over her. At first she almost screamed because a shinigami was not something she wanted to wake up to. However, before the scream could get out, she quelled it. "Ryuk? Am I a shinigami?"

Ryuk chuckled, putting his notebook away. He had wanted her to see him when she came back but he did not get the desired effect."No," he responded to her question. "Don't you remember what happened?"

Thorn sighed and thought for at least ten seconds.

"I think I had a heart attack," she finally concluded. Then her eyes narrowed. "Where's Yagami?" She forced herself to sit up, her body feeling tired, and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was after eight already. "Did he bring me back?"

"What do you think? Are you truly back from the dead or a spiteful ghost that came to haunt the man that killed you? If you ask me, the first one sounds more likely."

Before Thorn could ask another question, she heard the lock click and turned around. Even before the door was open, she knew that it was Light. He walked inside, his eyes on her. Thorn could feel her anger coming back again, the same anger she had died with. She wished it was hatred instead but she had became a little too soft to feel its full blown affect. If it had been hatred, she would have tried to kill him on the spot.

"Why am I alive?" She asked.

"I thought you didn't want to die."

"Answer the question."

Light got down on one knee, placing one arm across the other. His reddish brown eyes bore into her dark ones. He could tell that the girl was angry but he doubted that she'd remain angry. Sure, she would harbor a grudge against him but he could get around that if necessary. "I wasn't lying last night. You're not like Kiyomi or Misa. You're not famous but I could care less. People don't follow you around so you're free to move as you like. You're clever and smart."

After saying that, Light caressed Thorn's cheek. "I need you, Thorn. Become _my _goddess of the new world."

Thorn turned away. "As you said, I'm not Misa nor Takada . . . whatever trust I had for you, Yagami, is gone."

Light looked the other direction. "It's not about trust anymore. It's about whether you want to die a second time or live. I can tell you that you will have a long life if you do everything right."

Thorn frowned. _He has the shinigami eyes already? _She asked herself. She attempted to play it off like that didn't bother her."I could care less about dying. I died once. I should have stayed dead in the first place."

Light shrugged, his smile still on his face. "I guess torture is a better option, right? I already know what your worst fear is. Imagine it happening over and over again. Sounds pleasant, doesn't it?"

Thorn stared at him in disbelief. "You couldn't," she whispered, her voice faltering.

Light remained unfazed. "I've almost done it once before."

"What do you mean . . ." Thorn's eyebrows furrowed as the pieces slowly came back together. The memory she had tried to bury came back to the surface. "Shimada . . . you sent him."

"I'll do what it takes to make sure you cooperate and if it takes a criminal raping you over and over, I don't give a damn what happens to you."

Thorn slapped him across the face, the only thing she felt she could do. Slapping him did not make her feel better in any way; she still found herself cornered by this man. Quickly she stood up and walked down the hallway, coming up with an escape. "I'll hang myself before that happen," she told him.

Light stood but made no movement toward Thorn. "And I'll bring you back."

"By the time you get back here, I'll be gone."

"You wouldn't. I'd tie you down before I revive you."

Thorn screamed and pounded the wall out of frustration.

Light moved toward her. When he was about a foot away, he leaned against the wall and eyed the woman. "I'm not giving you a choice, Thorn."

She pressed her forehead against it and closed her eyes to stop any tears threatening to come out. Finally she felt what she had wanted to feel. "I hate you so much, Yagami."

_Rule 12:_ _Rule 2 is negated if the owner has already been killed through the use of a Death Note and was revived by this book. Though the Death Note can only kill a person once, the owner can still die by having his/her name crossed out._


	7. Chapter 7: Arrival

**A/N: Starting with this chapter, I will put up one rule per post. Other than that, I have nothing more to say but enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 7**

**:Arrival:**

_Rule 13: If a page (or even this book) is destroyed in any way, such as fire, revived people listed on the page (or in the book) will return to the dead if their written names are beyond recognition. This is considered the same as crossing out their names and the people cannot be revived again._

Two months after getting control of the Book of Existence, Light laid down on his own bed. Thorn had made the move to a bigger apartment when she realized that the new accommodations would be more permanent. The new apartment had two bedrooms instead of one and now he had his own privacy. The privacy was good; Light didn't have to see the woman on a regular basis. Plus Thorn tended to stay out of his way after he had outsmarted her. At times he sensed an animosity coming from her; at other times, it was something totally different. As much as he would like to figure Thorn out, he had more important issues to focus on: Near.

Near was the only obstacle in his way of becoming a god but he would be taken care of soon. As of right now, Light had several advantages. He was wiped from all records and was considered deceased by the world. In addition, his whereabouts could not be easily tracked by the police for the fact he was erased. To top it all off, he was certain he had Near figured out. Now, Light was waiting for him to come to Japan. Afterward, Light would confront Near, see his real name, and kill him.

The door to his bedroom opened and Thorn came inside.

Light sat up. "You just came back from Tokyo."

"I did," Thorn replied.

About a month ago, she had dyed her hair red and had grew her hair longer. The woman had even out her bangs as well, forcing herself to see the world through both eyes. In the addition to the new hairstyle, her wardrobe consisted of brighter colors.

The appearance changes were all part of her disguise as Yamamoto's new girlfriend, "Hisano Takahashi". Thorn only started dating Yamamoto because through her new boyfriend, she could access the Task Force files pertaining to the Kira case. It worked in Light's favor greatly.

"I got something for you." Thorn reached into her red purse and pulled out folded papers. She threw them at Light. "It's suppose to be some information about the Kira case. I didn't get all of it because I didn't want to get caught."

"Yamamoto brought you inside his house?"

"Yeah. I guess batting my eyelashes and giving him 'puppy dog' eyes worked. He needed to take a shower so I got onto his computer and printed as many pages as I could."

"You know, you really have impressed me," Light said, shuffling through the papers. Thorn sat at the end of the bed and adjusted the bottom of her dress. It kept riding up and Thorn wondered why people would make such sluttish dresses. She glanced at Light and caught him staring at what the dress was trying to reveal. She quickly stood up and fixed her it. Then she walked around the bed and sat down next to Light to get a better view of the papers she had printed.

"Looks like they already suspect me," Light mused out loud. "Just like I wanted."

Thorn wasn't sure what he meant. She glanced at the papers, her mind unable to make head nor tail of them. "So what does this all mean?" The woman eventually asked.

"The Task Force doesn't have any leads," Light smirked. "Soon, they'll ask Near to come and investigate." _Then I can kill them all._

Thorn picked up a paper and glanced it over. "They already suspect that there's a second Kira, too."

Not long after she had agreed to help him, Ryuk had given Thorn an extra Death Note of his. At first, Thorn had thought that Light had sealed his fate. Until she wrote his name down and he hadn't died, verifying that she had no choice in the situation. She had wanted to ask Ryuk about this but she had been busy balancing work, Kira duty, and her boyfriend. She was hardly home.

Light picked up another piece of paper. "Criminals?"

Thorn looked to see what he was talking about. "Yeah. Those are the ones they're not releasing to the public."

Ryuk walked through the wall and spotted the two on the bed, glancing over papers. "I'm surprised that you two aren't trying to kill each other."

"You shouldn't be," Thorn said. Her dark eyes landed on Light, who was already eying her. "Especially since one of us can't die."

Light smirked. _Two months and she's still harboring a grudge. _

"Does that bother you, Thorn?"

The woman simply replied, "Yes."

"Sucks for you, doesn't it?"

"I guess it does."

* * *

"I don't get it," Matsuda said and let out a grown.

"What don't you get?" Mogi asked.

"Yamamoto has a girlfriend and I don't! To make matters worst, she's hot! Why am I so unlucky? I was there that day when he met her! She could have been mine!"

Aizawa sighed. "Matsuda, we're here to focus on the Kira case, not on your women issues."

Tonight, Matsuda, Aizawa, and Mogi were the only three officers able to work on the Kira case at this time of night. The three, already use to one another's presence, did not mind. They had decided they would call it quits at around one o'clock in the morning. It was only eleven o'clock now. They hoped that some time from now, they would be one step closer to solving the case.

"Aizawa," Mogi said, "what did Near tell you today?"

Aizawa sighed. "He said that he'll arrive in Japan tomorrow."

Matsuda gasped. "Really? With his help, I'm sure we can find Light."

"Hopefully," Aizawa sighed. They had no real leads on the case. Only hunches and hypotheses influenced their decisions. He wanted real evidence, real suspects, and plausible scenarios. All the guessing wasn't working out. Aizawa hoped that with Near's help, everything would fall into place.

"The killings usually take place from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. of the next morning," Matsuda said, restating a known fact. He believed that doing so might spark an idea. However, it didn't work and Matsuda sighed. He continued.

"We've concluded that there are probably two Kiras. There is a clear distinction between the methods of killings. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., criminals strictly die of heart attacks. Then from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m., criminals die in a freak accidents. Then from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m, criminals die by heart attacks again."

"And sometimes those periods overlap," Mogi said thoughtfully. "Other times, they're extended or shortened. I assuming that Kira #1is killing criminals during the first and third shifts. Kira #2 has the second shift but does not take on his or her responsibilities at certain times during the week, most noticeably on the weekends. Then the first Kira takes over her responsibilities since he's free to do whatever he wants."

"The question is: What is Kira #2 is doing during those breaks?" Aizawa sighed and glanced at the time and saw only fifteen minutes had gone by.

"Possibly stealing police information," Mogi stated. "Ide found out that criminals whose names have not been released have been dying."

"So the second Kira could be in the police force?" Matsuda asked.

"Not necessarily," Aizawa said. "Before Light entered college, he wasn't working for the police. But he had access to all his father's case files. Kira #2 might have similar access."

Matsuda clenched his fists. "After everything he did, after everything we went through, the bastard comes back and tries to do it all over again! It angers me."

Aizawa and Mogi did not know what to say. They knew he meant Light.

* * *

Thorn woke up the next morning, seeing it was after eleven. Soon she would have to get ready to meet her boyfriend. Last night Light had told her to go to Yamamoto's house and get onto his computer. This time, all the information pertaining to the Kira should be attached to an e-mail and sent. Thorn wondered why she hadn't thought about that earlier. Now she had to find a new way to handle the situation.

She sighed. She did not like the fact that she was deceiving someone, claiming she was in love. She wasn't, at least she hoped not. Yamamoto, though sometimes a tad arrogant, was sweet, kind, and considerate and he did not deserved to be lied to. Due to his kindness, she liked being around Yamamoto; it was a huge difference from Light who had no need to hide how he felt toward her.

She got out of bed and headed into the kitchen. She was surprised to see Light making breakfast.

"You took too long to wake up," he explained as he turned off the fire so his scrambled eggs wouldn't be ruined.

"Yagami, how do you expect me to get onto his computer?" Thorn asked.

"You managed it before."

"That time I was lucky. He needed to take a shower. I don't think I'll get the same opportunity."

"Spend the night there."

"Yagami." Already the idea bothered her. He pretended not to notice this obvious fact.

"Do whatever it takes to stay the night," Light said. "You're a woman so you come up with the sexual appeals you'll use. When he is sleeping, you sneak onto his computer and email the files. That's sounds easy, right?"

"No," she replied. "You're talking about sexual appeals now. I never had a real boyfriend so I wouldn't know much about that . . . what entices you the most about women, Yagami?"

Light raised an eyebrow at the random question. "What?"

"You know, what turns you on? Is it a personality trait or a physical trait? And when you have sex, do you prefer to be the controlling one or the submissive one? Or in a relationship in general? Actually, forget the last question. Based on all your manipulative actions so far, it's obvious you like to be the controlling one."

"Why do you want to know this?"

"So I know how to deal with Yamamoto."

Light sighed and thought about her first question. "Personality traits that turned me off . . . whiny, unable to stop talking, doesn't listen, clingy, ditsy, pathetic, annoying—!"

"Okay," Thorn said, cutting him off. "Anyone who acts like Misa. How about Takada?"

"Turn offs . . . worries to often, obsessive, cracks under pressure, easily fooled, cries–-!"

"How about me?" Thorn asked, preparing herself for a wave of insults.

Light's reddish brown eyes passed over her in a scrutinizing way. "What I can't stand about you . . . always try to hide your emotions away, difficult in some way, have a comment on everything—!"

"Yagami," Thorn said, cutting him off, her face neutral as she prepared her next question. "Do you believe that you're so great that you deserve the most perfect woman in the world?"

"Another thing that I hate about you is that look always give when you ask something stupid," he muttered, putting bread into the toaster.

"No, I'm pretty serious."

Light shot her a glare and still her expression didn't change. He walked away from the counter and toward her. Thorn saw the look in his eyes and she knew she had upset him. When he raised his hand, Thorn flinched. She was surprised that the hand caressed her cheek instead. _He was actually about to slap me_, Thorn thought, her dark eyes narrowing.

"If you want positives . . . Misa was somewhat pretty, Kiyomi kinda had a hot body, and you're . . . competent."

"I'm just competent," Thorn repeated. Him just calling her competent annoyed her. Maybe she was jealous about the comments he was willing to give Misa and Takada. _Probably because they're dead_, she thought. _Makes it easier to admit._

"I need to get ready," Thorn told him and left the kitchen.

Ryuk, who had been silently watching the scene, spoke. "Wow, Light. That's a good compliment. 'Competent'. Women always want to hear that."

"Whatever," Light muttered. "She was starting to get on my nerves."

Ryuk grinned. "I'm surprised you didn't slap her."

* * *

"Hey, Shinsuke," Thorn said.

Yamamoto looked at her. They had came from the movies and now they were heading over to his place. Sometimes he wondered how a beautiful woman like her was attractive to a man like him. He and Matsuda, the better looking of the two of them, met her at the same time. But it was him, Shinsuke Yamamoto, that she went for. The thought made him smile. "What is it, Hisano?"

"Do you think I'm beautiful?"

Ryuk, who had decided to come along today, laughed. "I guess Light really got under your skin with that 'competent' comment."

Thorn ignored Ryuk and smiled innocently at Yamamoto.

Her boyfriend frowned. "Why do you need to ask that? You're probably the most beautiful woman I've ever met, Hisano."

"You're really sweet, Shinsuke," Thorn said and wrapped her arm around his. How was she going to spend the night at his place tonight? She was ignorant of what couples should do. If only she had some sort of guidance. When they had gone to the theater, they had seen a romance movie because she requested it, hoping that there would be something in it that she could use. However, all she saw was kissing and sex. Thorn was not going to have sex with him especially since her feelings weren't sincere.

She leaned her head on Yamamoto's shoulder. _Maybe I should think of something close to it_, she thought.

* * *

Her plan was successful; she had managed to spend the night at his house at the price of her dignity. The woman noticed that the more time she spent around Light and doing his bidding, the more corrupt her mind became.

Thorn opened her eyes and saw that it was three in the morning. She looked over at Yamamoto. He was peacefully sleeping in his boxers, his arm around her waist, reminding her of what she had done only a few hours ago. Light would pay her back for this, she would make sure. She didn't believe she could pull another stunt off like this again.

Carefully, Thorn removed his arm and slipped out of bed. Feeling uncomfortable walking around in only her bra and underwear, she picked up her shirt and put it on. She then opened the door slowly before leaving the room.

She crept down the stairs and into the room where she knew Yamamoto kept his computer.

"Ryuk?" She whispered into the darkness.

The shinigami appeared right behind her. "You're going to do it now?"

"I have to," Thorn whispered as she walked into the room and closed the door. She sat down on the chair and put on the computer. The monitor turned on and she could see that it was asking for the username and password. "Do you have them, Ryuk?"

Earlier on, Yamamoto had said he needed to do something and left Thorn in the living room. She knew what that it was computer related and told Ryuk to follow him to get his username, password, and anything else she would need for tonight.

The shinigami pulled out a piece of paper and threw it at her. Thorn saw the username and password which were right above his email log in information. Right below that was the password to access the Kira files. She typed in the username and password first and then hit enter. Immediately, Yamamoto's desktop appeared. She clicked around until she located a file asking for another password. Thorn inputted the one from the paper and it opened, revealing everything from the Kira case. Then she accessed the internet.

"Yagami will be pleased, won't he?" Thorn asked as she attached the files to an e-mail and sent it to her account.

"I guess this is where you're competent," Ryuk chuckled.

Shaking her head, Thorn started to erase the history and cookies. Then she went to the e-mail sent folder and deleted the message there. She even checked the trash to make sure none of the history ended up in there. Then she got down and pulled the computer plug out. By doing that, she hoped that the Kira file would say when it had been access last by him, not her. If that didn't work, she hoped Yamamoto wouldn't check.

After putting the plug back into the wall, Thorn said, "Let's go before Shinsuke realizes I'm gone."

"Don't forget that piece of paper," Ryuk stated. "You don't want to leave any evidence."

Thorn quickly picked the cheat sheet up and placed it into her bra. She didn't see any reason why Yamamoto would want to go there. After checking that everything was where it had been, she left the room and headed back to bed.

* * *

Despite the lack of sleep, Thorn managed to get up and arrive at work on time. She greeted Cho like normal and started to arrange a few new displays. Ryuk talked to her occasionally when he became too bored. Thorn had to keep these her answers to a minimum, not wanting Cho to think she was talking to people not there.

Around lunchtime, Light walked in. Cho, who was halfway through her sandwich, gasped and grabbed Thorn. "It's your handsome friend! I thought I never would get to see him again!" Quickly, the brunette wiped her mouth, wanting to look presentable, maybe even desirable.

Thorn frowned and placed her lunch back into her bag. Her dark eyes settled on Light. "Hello."

"Hi, Thorn."

Thorn glanced at Cho and stood up. "Can you excuse us?"

"Sure," Cho said, slightly disappointed.

_He's not even trying and Cho's swooning over him_, Thorn thought in disgust. _Are her standards that low?_

Thorn grabbed Light and dragged him to a different room, out of the sight and hearing of her friend and coworker. Ryuk followed them, curious to see what the meeting was about. Thorn leaned against the wall and sighed. "So, what do you want?"

"Did you erase all your traces?"

She knew what he meant. "I'm pretty sure I did."

"Good."

"Just to let you know, this morning, Yamamoto received a call. He thought I was sleeping but I was up. He said, 'He's finally here?' I think he meant Near."

Light smirked. "Near is already in Japan? This is going a lot easier than I thought it would."

"Don't get cocky, Yagami," Thorn warned.

Light kept his anger under control when he saw that neutral face again. "I won't," he replied.

* * *

Near, so used to his detective settings in America, stared at the Task Force Headquarters with disgust. Papers were everywhere and the equipment was, though from the previous year, couldn't compare with the equipment he usually used. Stephen Gevanni and Anthony Rester, who decided to come with Near, looked around the room as well.

"Near!" Matsuda said, unable to contain his excitement. "We're so glad that you're here."

Yamamoto sat up straight in his chair and stared at the short man that Matsuda addressed. He raised an eyebrow. "This is Near?"

Aizawa entered the room and saw that he needed to introduce the newest member of the Task Force. "This is Shinsuke Yamamoto. He is one of the newest cops on the force."

"I see," Near said, studying Yamamoto. "Aizawa, do you have any suspects besides Light Yagami?"

"None. We concluded that it must be him since his grave is empty."

"How about suspects for the second Kira?"

"None."

Near sat down in a nearby chair and didn't speak for a while. Then he said, "There's the information leak, correct?"

"Yeah," Mogi replied. "The leak I believed occurred just this week."

Near mused for a while longer. "We'll wait twenty-three days before taking another step."

"What?" Matsuda cried. "That doesn't make any sense!"

Aizawa folded his arms. "Does this wait have to anything with the Death Note?"

Matsuda frowned. At times like this, he felt out of the loop. He looked around at everyone else. Ide and Mogi seemed to be following what Aizawa had said. Yamamoto was the only one who looked clueless about Near's final decision. However, Yamamoto hadn't interrupted Near like he had. Matsuda sighed. _I have to learn how to control my outbursts._

Near nodded. "I want to rule out the first possibility that anyone is being controlled by the Death Note. It is possible that the leak could have occurred that way since Light knows your identities. If any one of us dies within the twenty-three day wait, then we know that someone was being controlled with the Death Note. Then I have to come up with a different course of action. However, if everyone is still alive, then we'll precede to step two.

"During this wait, I'll be staying in a hotel. If I have any messages or orders to send you, I'll call you or perhaps send Rester. I haven't ruled out the possibility that Light might control of one of you to kill me though the chances of that happening is only fifteen percent."

"Why only fifteen percent?" Aizawa asked.

"He could take the chance and write that one of you to kill me at a certain time. However, if I'm not there, then that person's death would be a waste. Light doesn't want new people working on this case. When he kills everyone including myself, he wants it to be a clean job."

"If you don't mind me asking," Matsuda began, "what is step 2?"

Near looked at Matsuda. "I can't tell you until the twenty-three-day wait is over."

**A/N: So Near finally makes his appearance in Japan. Sorry if this story was kind of slow in pace. However the pace will pick in the next few chapters. Thanks to badkidoh, Maniacal Muffins, and i love athrun for reviewing the last chap. The next one will be up sometime next week. Till then.**


	8. Chapter 8: Gevanni, Pt 1

**A/N: The title says it all. Gevanni, unlike the anime and manga, will play a bigger role in this story. Why? You'll see somewhat in this chapter. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 8**

**:Gevanni, Pt 1:**

_Rule 14: One only book is allowed to exist in the entirety of the Shinigami and Human worlds. The shinigami cannot make another one until this book is destroyed. If two or more of these books exist simultaneously, neither will be able to work until all but one is destroyed._

Inside Yamamoto's house, Thorn was unpacking her clothes and organizing them in her new room.

About a week ago, Yamamoto had asked Thorn to move in with him. and Thorn, thinking it would be a great opportunity, said yes. She believed it was an advantage have access to Yamamoto's computer on a daily basis. Later, she had told Light. His reaction had not been one of excitement. He had given her a funny look and then muttered how stupid the whole thing was. The situation was risky; it would be easier for her to get caught. She would be living a double life under his roof — she would have to be "Thorn" at her job and "Hisano" around Yamamoto and the other task force members. Eventually, he told her to do whatever. And now Thorn lived with her boyfriend.

"It's nearly impossible for me to be the second Kira," Thorn told Ryuk. Yamamoto was at work, so she had no need to worry about him hearing her.

"I can't even have a Death Note on me just in case Shinsuke might find it," she added as she started to hang her clothes in the closet.

"You should have thought about that before you said yes."

"At the time, I was thinking about how this would help Light." Thorn sighed. "I wonder what he's doing now."

Ryuk grinned. "Miss him already?"

"Things won't be the same without him around," she replied.

"You don't lie often," Ryuk concluded. He had expected a denial or something.

"I try not to," Thorn admitted. "That's why pretending to be 'Hisano', Yamamoto's girlfriend, sickens me."

* * *

Near was in his hotel room with Rester. His gray eyes passed over the eighteen TVs he had put in his room. All the screens read 'no signal'; Near was waiting for the first image to appear. He reached for his toys on the table and arranged them. He put 'Kira' next to 'Kira 2' and 'N' in the background. As far as he was concern, they were the main characters in his game so far. "After last week's investigation, I'm almost 100 percent positive that Kira 2 is not Aizawa or is within his household. This week, we'll set cameras and microphones in all the rooms in Yamamoto's house."

"What's taking Gevanni so long?"

"Yamamoto currently lives with his girlfriend, Hisano Takahashi. Gevanni must be waiting for her to leave." Near suddenly smiled when the entrance hall appeared on one of the monitors. "I guess Gevanni has started."

Near picked up his headset and put it on. "I'm assuming she left?" He asked Gevanni.

Gevanni's voice came through the earpiece. "Yeah. I'm installing the cameras and bugs now."

"Don't forget the bathrooms as well."

"The bathrooms, L?"

"I'm not taking any chances. Tomorrow, I want you to follow Hisano around, Gevanni."

"What about Yamamoto?"

"Rester will trail him."

". . . You suspect the woman more, right?"

Gevanni's question was understable. Between Gevanni and Rester, Gevanni was the more experienced tracker and would most likely be the one to trail the more dangerous suspect. "She's got involved with Yamamoto approximately two months ago. It could be mere coincidence or it was her intention to be closer to the investigation. The chances of her being Kira are double the chances of it being Yamamoto. As you know in the past, Light Yagami tends to use women more."

"Alright," Gevanni replied. "I'll follow her tomorrow."

Near watched as another monitor showed the living room. _Hm, if Hisano Takahashi is Kira 2, then she could lead us to Kira. But knowing Kira, he would have realized this. That could be why she moved in with Yamamoto; to put distance between Light and herself so he won't be caught.'Hisano Takahashi' is probably an alias to protect Light's whereabouts as well . . ._

* * *

After a day of shopping, Thorn unlocked the front door and walked inside. She dropped her shopping bags onto the floor in the entrance hall and removed her shoes. "Shinsuke?" She called out and got no answer. She was home alone but didn't mind. She was free to what she pleased. Thorn could go on Yamamoto's computer and send Light some more files. She could go watch horror movies all night. Maybe even make a few phone calls. But first she wanted to take a nice, long, hot shower upstairs.

She made her way up, Ryuk floating behind her. The shinigami was quiet for once, his eyes scanning the walls and ceiling for something. Thorn did not mind his silence. She wanted to think about her next series of actions; she needed a way to come face to face with Near without getting under suspicion.

Thorn walked into the bathroom and started to unbutton her blouse. She heard Ryuk snickered. She frowned, wondering what was so funny. The shinigami had seen her undress plenty of times. Did she miss something? Ignoring him, she removed her blouse and put it on the rack behind the door.

"Don't say anything," Ryuk said. "Just listen. I wasn't going to say a word about this but seeing how this would affect my eating habits — there are cameras hidden throughout the house."

Thorn stopped undressing and put her hands back on her blouse.

"There are cameras inside the bathroom as well."

Her dark eyes widen as she slowly took the blouse off the rack. Then she sped up. Thorn quickly put on her blouse and exit the bathroom. She ran downstairs and entered the kitchen, slid open the glass door, and stepped into the backyard. Immediately, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Immediately, she started to dial her old apartment's number. The phone rang once, twice before an answer.

"Hello?" It was Light.

Thorn looked over her shoulder, half-expecting to see someone there. She only saw Ryuk. The woman turned back around and replied, "It's me, Light. I can't stay here."

" . . . Why not?"

" There are cameras throughout the house. I can't change or take a shower or anything knowing that I'm being watched."

Light sighed and said, "Thorn, don't freak out on me. You need to act as if there are no cameras. If you don't, Near will immediately pick up on it and act."

"But Light—!"

"Thorn, you need to pull this off. Can you?"

"I—!"

"Can you?" His voice came out sharper and sterner. Light was trying to remain calm and gentle but Thorn could tell he was running out of patience.

" . . . I'll try."

Thorn closed her cell phone and placed it back into her pocket. Then she made her way back into the kitchen, up the stairs, and into the bathroom. She couldn't believe she was about to undress knowing that people was watching. She bit her lip as she removed her blouse for the second time and took off her skirt. Reluctantly, her bra and panty came off. She started to run the water and stepped into the tub. Then she drew the curtains and turned on the shower. _I'll just take a quick shower and get this over with._

"They even have cameras to see into the bathtub," Ryuk stated. He was thinking out loud about where he could eat his applies without being seen. He had not made the comment for Thorn's benefit but the woman overheard the shinigami.

"Perverts," Thorn muttered out loud.

* * *

"Did she say 'perverts'?" Near thoughtfully questioned. "It sounded like she did . . . She clearly dyed her hair red. Is that part of a disguise or to keep up with the latest fashion?"

He looked at Gevanni, who was blushing. Out of the three of them, he seemed the most uncomfortable watching the woman take a shower. Near didn't see what was wrong. Humans had to take showers on a regular basis and schools covered the female and male anatomies. He couldn't see what the big deal was.

"Gevanni?"

The young man looked at Near.

"Do you find her attractive?"

"No."

"Then why are you blushing?"

Gevanni looked away. "It's awkward watching her in the shower."

Near turned back toward the TV. "Get use to it. You'll have to watch her for the rest of the week."

* * *

Around eleven o'clock, Light watched the news, eager to see what criminals they would announce. During the commercial break, he flipped through the channels. Already, networks were dedicating themselves to Kira. Some stations were already asking to be Kira's spokesperson. Light wasn't going to act on it now; perhaps after he disposed of Near.

As for Thorn, he wasn't sure if would keep her around or dispose of her yet. She wasn't like Misa; he didn't have to worry about putting up with the most annoying person in the world. Knowing Thorn, she would want to be far away from him. Her moving in with Yamamoto was proof enough. Though she had left the apartment last week, the idea still bothered him.

He was worried that more time with Yamamoto would make Thorn get off track. Light did not believe Thorn would fall for Yamamoto easily. The man was kind to her and did anything for her without question but Thorn would not want someone who would worship her. She had admitted she wanted someone who would have their opinion and could think on their own, someone who was on the same page as her, someone who wasn't exactly like her and came with something unique. Light had told her that she wouldn't find anyone like that. She had told him that he was close to it.

Since that incident, he wondered if she was attracted to him despite her hatred. She had told him before she could care less about men. Now he couldn't help but think that maybe living three months with him and dating Yamamoto changed her perspective a little. She had admitted that she was attracted to him when she had been drunk. Of course that was before she found out the truth and her feelings changed drastically the next day.

In the beginning, Light hadn't like her all that much either. Now he was beginning to lust for her. But he wouldn't tell her. He realized that she was thinking more like him and therefore his weaknesses would be her advantages. As Light would manipulate her if she admitted anything, Thorn would manipulate him. Strangely, it was those similarities that sparked his attraction. For instance, last week, she had sent the Death Note to him, claiming that once she was in Yamamoto's house she would have no opportunities to kill and therefore it would be best if he did all the killings. Light had done the same thing when he was part of the head of the Task Force and had Misa do all the killings. Yes. The lust could have easily developed from the similarities or that he wanted to control her in some sense. Thorn was not like Misa or Kiyomi; she was free to do what she want and turn on him when she please _if_ the opportunity arose.

Light sighed.

He would allow Thorn to act on her own for a while with Ryuk nearby. Once she came face to face with Near, then he would act. He had to be patient. He was not going to make mistakes this time.

* * *

It was the next day and Thorn was on her way to work. She was tenser than usual, even with Ryuk floating behind her.

From the time she left the subway, Thorn felt like she was being watched. She wanted to ask Ryuk as she walked down the sidewalks but she knew that the shinigami would only answer if it bothered him as well. If she was being followed, there was only one person she could think of. There had been man on the train that had passed furtive glances in her direction. Though he was handsome, she had felt uncomfortable for the duration of the ride. To make things weirder, he had gotten off at the same stop as her. Thorn heard the shinigami sigh, a sign that he was about to reveal something important.

"I know I can't be seen but this is annoying."

"I'm being followed, right?" Thorn asked in a low voice.

"So you knew?"

"No. I'm slightly paranoid . . . Is it that man from the train? The good looking one?"

"Blue eyes and dark hair?"

"Yeah."

"That's the guy."

_First cameras, now stalkers_, Thorn thought._ Is this just standard procedure or am I considered a suspect? If I was Light, I would confront the man, find out his name, and kill him. I still have a small piece of the Death Note on me. But I shouldn't kill him right away. That would be too suspicious, right? So I should do it when the attention's no longer on me._

Thorn went around the corner and pressed herself against the wall of a building. She slowed her breathing and tried to make as little noise as possible. Then she waited. About ten seconds later, the man peered around the corner of the building. The moment the two made eye contact, Thorn gave him a dirty look.

Ryuk grinned. _Confrontation, huh, Thorn? You are the straightforward type._

"So do you usually stalk people off trains or is it only me?"

Gevanni, who hadn't expected to be caught or confronted, stood up straighter and walked around the corner to face her. The woman seemed serious, the complete opposite of what Matsuda described. The look in her eyes were telling him that she was somehow going to deal with him. _If she is the second Kira, she might try to kill me_, Gevanni thought. _She might even have the eyes._

"Were you stalking me?" Thorn repeated.

"No," Gevanni said immediately. "I was watching out for you."

Thorn raised an eyebrow.

Gevanni looked away. "It could be bad for a woman walking around here by herself. Anyone could attack you."

"People like you," Thorn stated.

"No," Gevanni said right away. "Of course not."

"But you were following me," she repeated, her dark eyes examining the man. "What doesn't make you an attacker?"

Gevanni didn't know what to say. This wasn't his job, to deal with an interrogation. His job was to be an expert tracker. However, as of right now he had a new job: to come up with a story. "Actually, I noticed you on the train and I thought that you are very beautiful. I was nervous on the train but now I have the courage to . . . finally ask you out."

Thorn stared at him, considering the fact that he was probably working for Near. Did he seriously wanted to ask her out? No, she concluded. That was his excuse for tailing her. She looked away from him and down the street. "No. I'm already involve with someone else."

"Oh," Gevanni said. Near had wanted to find out where 'Hisano' worked. From there, they could learn if 'Hisano Takahashi' was a fake name and probably discover her real name as well. "Can I walk you to your job at least?"

_Persistent_, Thorn thought. "How are you so sure I'm going to my job?"

Gevanni flinched. _Dammit. I think she knows about Near and his investigation. There's no way she's picking up on every mistake I make. Or maybe I making too many careless mistakes. I can't even decipher what she's thinking._

Thorn sighed when the man did not answer. "I'm not going anymore. I'd feel safer in the subway."

"Okay then," Gevanni said, watching the woman walk passed him. _I screwed up, _he thought. He took out his cell phone and called L. He placed the cell phone to his ear and waited for Near to pick. "L."

"Did something happen, Gevanni?"

"She caught me and now she's not going to her job."

" . . . Still follow her. She could try to contact Light."

"Alright."

"And don't confront her at any other time unless I say so. Keep a low profile and don't draw attention to yourself."

"Got it."

* * *

Light needed to communicate with Thorn somehow. He needed a full summary of what had been happening with SPK and the Task Force around. She was already being investigated, probably being kept a close watch on 24/7 through surveillance cameras. Talking over the phone wasn't going to do. It was too limited, too risky. If she could come back to the apartment for a night without being followed, then the two of them could easily plan ahead. Light did not want to make the same mistakes he made with Mikami; not talking to him at all and using Takada as the medium.

Light picked up the phone and dialed Thorn's cell phone number. She picked up almost immediately.

"Hello?"

"This is Light."

There was a slight pause. "How's everything over there?" She asked.

"Fine. I'm more curious about your end."

"Try yes or no."

Light frowned. _Try yes or no? Probably means someone is following her._

"Are you being followed?" That was a question that could be answer with a yes or no.

"Yes."

"Is the person nearby?"

"Obviously."

Light smirked at the way she was delivering one-word answers. She was smart enough to reply with answers that were casual and didn't reveal much information. And she chose to do this way of talking without him saying a word. Thorn was very competent. He could trust Thorn on her own a little longer. "I want to meet you later into the week."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I want you to spend the night here. Is that possible?"

"Yes, it is."

"How about three days from now?"

"That sounds good."

"Can you send Ryuk here?"

"No problem. Tonight . . . I got to go now."

"Bye." Light hung up. Once Ryuk got here, he would set the first part of his plan into motion. Part two wouldn't happen until three days later, when Thorn came back. As of right now, Thorn was a very important tool to his scheme. She would help him defeat Near, possibly be the one to kill him.

* * *

At around eight o'clock that same night, Thorn stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't remember the last time she wore all black. She wore a tight black dress that had a low neck. The dress stopped about five inches above her knees. Because of this, she wore black leggings. To add some height, though she didn't think she needed much, she wore two-inch heels, making her stand at about five-nine. She ran a hand through her red hair, figuring there was nothing she could really do with it.

Usually Thorn would ask Ryuk his opinion about her outfit. However, Ryuk had already left to meet Light. She decided to find out how she looked based on Yamamoto reaction and went downstairs.

Thorn spotted Yamamoto sitting in the living room. She walked over, leaned over the back of the couch, and hugged him. "I'm going out, Shinsuke," she told him.

Yamamoto turned around and almost gaped at his girlfriend's new look. "Where are you going, Hisano?" He somehow managed to ask. The black was a big change.

"To a club with a friend of mine," Thorn stated, swinging her purse around. She couldn't tell if that was a good reaction but decided at this point it didn't matter. She smiled at him. "And don't worry if I'm not home early."

* * *

Near was staring at the monitor, watching Hisano grin and kiss her boyfriend. He picked up his cell phone. "Gevanni?"

"Yes, L."

"You will follow Ms. Takahashi to this 'club'. She will meet someone there. If it is a man, I want you to stay away. If not, you are safe to move in to corner her."

"I understand."

Near took out his 'Gevanni' toy and placed it on the table near 'Kira-2'. _I know you won't kill Gevanni. Even that would be too bold a move for Kira. Hopefully, we'll learn something new from this confrontation._

**A/N: I hope this chapter came out good, maybe even better than the last one. I changed and corrected so many things. So this chapter should be. Anyway, next week, I'm going away to an engineering program (yep, I want to study engineering—chemical to be more specific) so I won't be able to update then. Either I'll post up a chapter before I leave or post two chapters, 9 and 10, when I come back. I don't know yet. Well, thanks to badkidoh for reviewing.**


	9. Chapter 9: Gevanni, Pt 2

**A/N: I came back Saturday and I expected to post Chapters 9 and 10 on Tuesday, the latest. Yeah but I had another story I'm working on (Bleach fanfic) and had to post two up for that one as well. Plus I had to check this chap and next one for anything I wanted to fix. So, it's Thursday and here they are. This chapter is more talking than action, I guess, so I hope it's not boring. Unfortunately, there's no Light in this chapter. At first I wanted a part with him but I changed my mind. But don't worry, Light is in the next chapter. Anyway, last rule I shall ever put up.**

**CHAPTER 9**

**:Gevanni, Pt 2:**

_Rule 15: A person who has ownership of this book, whether in the past or currently, cannot go to hell or heaven._

It was getting close to midnight and Thorn was still in the club with Cho. The two were on stools next to the bar counter, free to order drinks when they want and able to see everyone else in the club. Cho had wanted the seats because she knew that everyone would eventually come to the bar to order drinks and "everyone" included good-looking men. Surely, one of them would be interested in her. She hoped.

"Tonight's the night I'm going to find a man," Cho said, watching a handsome man come to the bar. Before she could make a move, another woman came and latched onto the man.

"I hope so," Thorn stated. "All you do is complain about the one I have."

Cho smirked. "Correction: _Ones_."

Thorn sighed. She knew that Cho was referring to Light and Shinsuke. Cho knew a little too much for her own good but Thorn could not tell Light about this. He would have no problem writing the woman's name down in his notebook and Thorn would feel guilty. In addition to the guilt, she would look more suspicious to Near. That was two things Thorn did not want to deal with.

Thorn took a sip from her martini and decided to set things straight with her friends. "I'm dating one guy, Cho."

"Yeah. Sure . . . Hey, a cute guy is coming over here. Maybe he's the one."

Thorn looked over and saw it was her 'stalker'. Her dark eyes narrowed, upset that he was here. _Why is he here? _She thought, refusing to believe this was a mere coincidence.

Gevanni stared at Thorn before looking at the brunette next to her. He knew that he was safe. There was no man around and based on the look on the suspect's face, she had not expected his arrival and therefore had not prepared for this. That was two positives about the situation. She was cornered, unable to leave because of her friend's presence.

"Hi," Cho said with a seductive smile. When her friend did not say a word, Cho elbowed her. She gave Thorn a look, to let the woman know that she should say something. Her friend did come here to be her "wing-girl".

"Hello," Thorn muttered.

Gevanni looked at the redhead. "Funny seeing you again."

Cho turned toward Thorn in shock. "Again? As in you two met before? Oh my god, there is no way you can juggle three men at once, Thorn!"

Thorn's eyes widened. She sharply looked at Gevanni, seeing the contemplating expression on his face and turned toward Cho. _She has such a big mouth. Maybe she is better off dead . . . What the hell am I thinking? _Getting rid of all her negative thoughts, Thorn smiled falsely and grabbed Cho's shoulder.

"Look at that guy right there," Thorn pointed out. "Maybe you can go talk to him."

"I don't think I can. He's too cute."

_And Mr. Stalker is in your league? _Thorn thought darkly. Surprised by her bitchy thought, her smile almost faltered.

"You have a chance," Thorn encouragingly said. "Don't put yourself down."

Cho nodded and stood. "Okay. I'll go for it," she said and left Thorn alone with Gevanni.

_Three men, huh, _Gevanni thought as he took Cho's seat by the bar. He immediately came up with two possible men: himself and Yamamoto. As for the third man, that could possibly be Light Yagami. Then again, assuming she was leading a double life, the third man could be an actual boyfriend. If that was the case, why would the suspect allow an outsider to know all this information? Judging by how fast the woman had wanted to get her friend away, the friend must know something important. As much as he wanted to question the woman, right now he had his first priority sitting next to him.

Gevanni turned toward the bartender. "One beer," he said before looking at Thorn. "Want anything? I'll pay for it."

"No thanks," Thorn muttered.

Gevanni told the bartender that was it. A minute later, Gevanni had his beer in hand and took a sip. It wasn't bad. His blue eyes studied the woman next to him, eventually spotting the cleavage she was willing to reveal. He found himself wishing he had not seen her naked. He had to look away; it was the only way to stop from blushing and letting her know what he was thinking about.

"So, Mr. Stalker, what do you want?" Thorn asked, her eyes on him.

"Thorn is your name?"

"A nickname," she replied cooly and sipped her martini. She placed the glass on the counter, her hand never leaving it. "Do you have a name you don't mind telling me? I rather call you that than 'Mr. Stalker'."

"Stephen," he finally said. Gevanni moved in closer to Thorn, the woman giving him a dirty look. Already, he knew he was invading her personal space but pretended not to notice. It was great knowing that she was the one feeling nervous and not him. It was the complete opposite from this morning.

"I'm going to get straight to business," he stated.

"You're going to tell me why you were stalking me, right?"

"We have suspicions you could be the second Kira, 'Hisano', if that is your real name."

Thorn stared at him and took a small sip from her martini, buying time to think about her next set of words. She realized that everything she did at this point was crucial. One slip up and she would be caught. She knew if he was confronting her about the Kira case, then he wanted to talk to her about it, waiting for her to leak something important. If that was the game he wanted to play, Thorn would play it, too. Any valuable information Gevanni accidently admitted, she would tell Light.

"Hisano is my real name," Thorn lied. "And about being the second Kira, I'll tell you right now that I'm not. What would make you think that I would be?"

"Because not too long ago, you started to date Shinsuke Yamamoto."

"Two months ago. I guess that would make me more suspicious because that happened after Kira's return. But I assure you, it was only coincidental."

"Since you moved in with him, it would be a lot easier to get information on the Kira case."

"If I was the second Kira, I would try something like that. But seeing that I'm not, I would have no reason to."

Gevanni raised an eyebrow. "Fine then. But if you were the second Kira, what else would you do?"

Thorn finished her martini, trying to buy some time to come up with a few good words.

"If I was the second Kira, I would try to find out who you were. Through you, I could easily find the brains behind the operation and kill him. I'm pretty sure that it's L, even though he said he wouldn't interfere with this case. Interesting guy, this L. I guess he doesn't bother with cases unless they're entertaining."

"Something like that."

"If you can argue about that, then you must see him on a regular basis."

"Yeah—!" Gevanni looked at her and saw the way her eyes examined him. He narrowed his eyes and saw she had almost got him to reveal something important about Near. He glanced at the beer he held. He was going to make it last the whole night. If he had a second beer, he wasn't sure what else he might accidently say. He thought carefully and said:

"L . . . can be a pervert."

"He has to be if he's willing to-!" Thorn stopped mid-sentencing, realizing her error.

"Willing to do what?" Gevanni asked.

Thorn said, "To put cameras in my bedroom." _It's better if I tell him I know about the cameras_, she reassured herself. _That way I could remove them without being suspicious. Ryuk pointed out where some of the cameras where hidden already. They could easily claim I have a shinigami if I remove them without saying a word. But by telling them I know, I would have an excuse to remove them. I just need a good explanation of how I found them . . . I hope this makes sense out loud._

Gevanni thought for a while, trying to analyze what she had just said. "Why are you so sure that it was L that had them installed in there?"

Thorn looked away from Gevanni and stared at the wine bottles on the wall. "Well, I thought it was Shinsuke but after you told me that I was suspected of being the second Kira, the cameras could have been placed there by him."

"Since you knew about the cameras, why were you so affectionate with your boyfriend before coming here? Before we talked, you suspected your boyfriend so naturally you should act apprehensive around him."

_Dammit. I walked right into that one._

"I didn't want to create a rift between us," Thorn said matter-of-factly.

"Why didn't you take them out before?"

"I only noticed them tonight. I was planning to remove them later _after _telling Shinsuke."

"Really? Wouldn't that be creating a rift between you two?"

"Forget that I mentioned the cameras," Thorn said, frustrated that she put herself into a corner. Light would never be so stupid to do something like that. Mention the cameras. That was stupid all together. She hated her honesty sometimes.

"The cameras thing won't change anything. I'm not the second Kira. You won't find any evidence to incriminate me. And Kira can keep doing what he's doing. I think it's justified. You and L and whoever else might as well give up. You'll never catch him."

Gevanni narrowed his eyes. "We've caught him before."

"So how did he escape? Is Kira that powerful and smart, he outwitted the great L?"

Gevanni didn't say anything. _She's toying with me_, he thought. He did not like the way Thorn calmly talked to him like she was superior in every way imaginable. He doubted she had the same level of intelligence as Light Yagami. He didn't believe she could outwit Near on her own either. He was about to say something but Cho came back, a wide grin on her face.

"I just got invited to a party," she said, glancing over her shoulder at a man who was waiting by the door. "I'm going to go. You want to come?"

"No," Thorn said immediately.

Cho frowned a little. "Will you be okay by yourself?"

Thorn nodded. That was one way to solve the Cho problem. "I'll be fine."

"But how will you get home?"

"I'll give her a ride home," Gevanni interrupted.

Thorn shot him a look but it went unnoticed by her friend and the SPK member.

Cho nodded, accepting. "Okay then," she said and hugged her friend. "I'll see you tomorrow, Thorn. Don't stay up late tonight," she added with a wink. Linking her arm with a man who was waiting for her, she walked out of the club.

Thorn looked at Gevanni. "I'm not going in your car."

"It's after one in the morning. There's no trains and I'm pretty sure you don't want to walk the streets at night."

"You'd be surprise," Thorn stated.

"Really?"

Thorn narrowed her dark eyes.

* * *

Despite her refusals, Thorn sat inside Gevanni's car as he drove her home. If she had been impulsive, she would have walked home only to discover how foolish it was of her and she would have regretted it. At least this way, she was in the safety of a car. She looked out the window, trying to figure out why someone who works for Near wanted to offer her, a suspect in the Kira case, a ride home. She sighed and reached into her purse, searching for her keys. The moment he would park outside her house would the moment she would be out of the car and inside the house. She didn't want to be near Gevanni any longer than she needed to.

The car stopped at a red light.

Gevanni glanced at her. "Are you cold?"

Thorn looked at him. "Yes."

Gevanni turned on the heater. He looked at her, hoping she would say something. However, she didn't and the silence really got to him. Then the traffic light turned green and he pressed the gas pedal.

"Why do you support Kira?" He finally asked.

Thorn stared out the window and at the buildings rushing by. She replied, "Unlike the police, he can stop crime. And unlike the police, he can enforce the law properly. I'll admit there is still crime in this world but I'm sure it will be gone in about ten years, maybe even less than that."

"So it's okay for people to live in constant fear?"

"I use to think that, too. But things happened."

Gevanni "What happened?"

"What does it matter? Kira killed the bastard the moment he made his return. Somehow the courts decided that a life sentence was good enough for his crimes. That bastard deserved to die and I'm glad that Kira agreed."

"It couldn't have been Kira," Gevanni said, remembering what Near pointed out. "It had to have been the second Kira. The message that criminal left was 'Kira will return', showing that the real Kira hadn't come back yet."

"You think you have this all figure out."

Gevanni quickly glanced at her before putting his eyes on the road. The woman clearly did not believe the police would capture Kira. He sighed and stated, "Thanks to you, we have something to go on."

"That there's a link between me and the first victim of Kira?" She asked nonchalantly.

Gevanni parked outside of Yamamoto's house. Then he looked at Thorn. "Are you trying to incriminate yourself?"

She placed her hand on the door, eager to get out but not before she got the last word. "Would I get to see L that way?"

He stared at her, not sure what to say. He couldn't tell if she really wanted to see L or was using reversed psychology to avoid meeting him. Her statement made him wonder if she was like the previous second Kira, who only needed a face to kill. Did she know his full name by now and was waiting to get inside to write his name into the Death Note? Was that why she was willing to become more suspicious?

"You look nervous," Thorn said honestly, her dark eyes on him.

"I'm not, Hisano."

"If it makes you feel better, I can't kill you," Thorn said. "Even the second Kira wouldn't bother doing the job. You're stupid enough for your own good. Honestly." She got out of the car and stretched. She looked over her shoulders at the infuriated man. "Thanks for the ride, Stephen. Hopefully we won't see each other any time soon."

Gevanni watched her walk up the stairs. He couldn't believe that he was going to follow this woman for the rest of the week and investigate her. He was certain that Near would want him to deal with her face to face. Gevanni wasn't too fond of the idea; 'Hisano' was driving him up the wall.

The woman made eye contact with him before entering the house. She knew he was going to tell Near about everything she spoke of and realized that she had made one crucial mistake.

* * *

"Hm," Near said.

Gevanni and Rester watched him replaying the recording of the car conversation over and over again. Near's creepy smile was growing wider. The two men knew that smile meant Near was onto something that would help the Kira case. However, they could see nothing significant in the car conversation, except for the part where Gevanni pointed out the link between the first heart attack victim and 'Hisano'.

Rester raised an eyebrow. "Sir, why are you listening to that tape so many times?"

"I find it amusing that our suspect made a mistake," Near explained. "In the conversation in the club, she oddly reminded me of Light with the way she handled the conversation. She provided her insight of the case with scenarios of her being the second Kira to taunt you. The questions you asked her, Gevanni, did not give me the answers I wanted. Your question in the car however did. She lost her cool."

Near rewind the tape and pressed 'Play'.

"_I use to think that, too. But things happened."_

"_What happened?"_

"_What does it matter? Kira killed the bastard the moment he made his return. Somehow the courts decided that a life sentence was good enough for his crimes. That bastard deserved to die and I'm glad that Kira agreed."_

Near smiled again. "The criminal who died, the first victim, was put in jail for sexual assault and rape. Judging by what 'Hisano' said, we can assume she was a victim and that her real name would be in that case's records."

"I suppose you want those records, Near?" Rester asked.

Near shook his head. "Not the records. The victims' names and possibly their photographs. I want to see if 'Hisano Takahashi' is one of them. In the mean time, I want you to continue your meetings with 'Hisano', Gevanni. She might have realized she messed up. Make sure it looks as if we didn't notice."

"Understood," Gevanni said. He glanced at the TV screens and saw that the woman opened a book. _What else could she reveal about Kira?_

**A/N:** **Thanks to badkidoh, Calamus, and Derby 360 for reviewing. Enjoy the next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10: Plans

**CHAPTER 10**

**:Plans:**

Thorn rang the bell to her old apartment.

She couldn't believe her day. It seemed impossible yet it had happened. Gevanni had actually kissed her. She remembered his car being parked outside Yamamoto's house. As usual she had been trying to get the last word and of course, like always, Gevanni had refused to let her. She hadn't noticed how close they were until he was able to touch her lips with his own.

Thorn involuntarily touched her lips as she waited for Light to answer the door.

She had kissed him back. Three months ago, if he or any guy, had tried to pull that stunt, she would have punched them. However, she supposed living with a handsome man for two months and then having a boyfriend made her yearn for something. It just so happened that Gevanni, the man trying to find evidence on her, satisfied that yearn for some unfathomable reason. Thorn wondered if Gevanni had developed a real interest in her or was pretending. He did start the kiss. If he was just pretending, she would be upset because she actually liked the guy. She sighed. She couldn't tell Light; he would kill Stephen Gevanni on the spot.

The door opened and Thorn stared at Light. "Hello, Yagami."

"Hello, Thorn," Light greeted as he moved aside. The moment she was inside, he closed the door and locked it.

Thorn removed her shoes and dropped her bag of clothes onto the floor. "I told Shinsuke that I was staying at a friend's house."

"He doesn't mind?"

"No. He has to pull an all-nighter for the Kira case." Thorn reached into her bag and pulled out a red apple. She threw the apple into the air. Like she had expected Ryuk appeared and caught it. Thorn closed her bag and removed her jacket. She threw it carelessly onto the couch and said, "Hello, Ryuk."

The shinigami grinned. "I'm glad you remembered."

"I wouldn't have forgotten it," Thorn stated before looking at Light. "What is it that you want to tell me?"

* * *

Near came to Task Force Headquarters to discuss with Aizawa, Mogi, Matsuda, and the other Task Force members what he had discovered. The last time Near had called such a meeting was a month ago. He had these meetings sparingly, in case Light used one of the Task Force members to try to kill him. Gevanni and Rester were there with him, in case anything went wrong.

"We have a lead?" Matsuda asked in shock. Near nodded. "Unbelievable! I knew we would get somewhere with Near's help!"

"I'm eighty-five percent sure that Yamamoto's 'girlfriend' is the second Kira," Near said.

Yamamoto went onto the defensive. "There's no way she could be the second Kira! She's too nice and sweet and loving and—!"

Near sighed loudly in an annoyed way, cutting the man off.

Near had a feeling there might be some opposition to this theory. Even Mogi and Aizawa seemed unsure about the idea of 'Hisano Takahashi' working with Light Yagami. The only two who didn't seem unfazed by this turn of events were Rester and Gevanni. Near had came prepared. He took out a tape recorder and rewind it before pressing 'Play'. The whole room remained silent as they listened to her and Gevanni's conversation. When the conversation ended, Near stopped playing the tape. "The link 'Hisano' refers to, I looked it up. The criminal only had three victims: one middle-age woman and two others who would be around the age 'Hisano' is now. As I had suspected, none of their names are 'Hisano Takahashi'."

"Wait, then wouldn't that mean that my girlfriend is not the second Kira?" Yamamoto questioned. "If the names don't match up, then surely—!"

"Not necessarily," Near said, glancing up. "Your girlfriend, if that what she really is, could be using a false identity."

Rester took out two pictures and put them on the table so all of them could see. "The woman on the left is Amaya Kusonoki," he explained. "The one on the right is Yumi Mikimoto."

Yamamoto studied the pictures. The woman, Amaya Kusonoki, looked almost unemotional. She was wearing a lot of dark make-up: black eye liner, dark mascara, black eye shadow, dark lipstick. In addition, Kusonoki was wearing black except for the purple scarf around her neck. She was the complete opposite of the woman he was dating. The other woman, Yumi Mikimoto, had brown hair and light brown eyes. Yamamoto knew that Hisano's eyes were a very dark brown and that she didn't wear contacts or glasses. Also, Mikimoto had on so much jewelry and Hisano hardly wore any. There was no way that Hisano could be either of these two women. Hisano was so different from them.

Suddenly Matsuda gasped and pointed at the photo on the left. "Hey, I met her."

Near looked sharply at Matsuda before he glanced at the picture the officer pointed at. "Amaya Kusonoki . . . When?"

"I think I did anyway," Matsuda sheepishly said, realizing his outburst. "I mean, everyone called her Thorn Divine, not by her real name. It just that the two look alike. I met Thorn at the Art Exhibition in Tokyo four months ago. I got her autograph and everything."

Gevanni raised an eyebrow. "A woman called our suspect Thorn."

Matsuda scratched his head. "Maybe she's a big fan and wanted the same nickname?"

Near started to twirl a lock of his white hair. "I doubt it. I'm eighty-nine percent certain that our suspect is the second Kira. But I want more evidence. Until I'm one hundred percent sure, I won't meet her face to face." He looked at Yamamoto, who appeared to be the most upset. "Do you know where 'Hisano' went tonight?"

"She said to a friend's house," Yamamoto muttered. "I trust her."

"She could be using that as an excuse to meet Light," Near considered thoughtfully. "Probably planning my downfall as we speak."

"Are you sure about this, Near?" Ide asked watching Near take out his puppets. The one marked Kira-2 was already dressed like 'Hisano', red hair and all. "I mean, look at Hisano. She doesn't have the personality that is needed to kill people."

"The way she acts around you is not the way she acts around Gevanni. She is also a Kira supporter."

"But what does that matter?" Yamamoto challenged. "There are lots of Kira supporters. That doesn't mean that they're all armed with Death Notes!"

Near sighed. "You weren't here, Yamamoto, but there was a time where most of the Task Force believed that Light Yagami wasn't Kira when he actually was. In a few aspects, your girlfriend reminds me of him."

* * *

Thorn sat on the couch, looking down at her hands. Light was sitting across from her, a table in between them. The woman sighed. _Where to start?_ She asked herself. Her eyes landed on him, realizing that in some odd way, she had missed Light. She didn't like acting on her own; she needed his guidance to an extent. His opinion would be nice before she acted. Already she had made one mistake. "Yagami?"

"What?"

"I need to tell you that I screwed up. I think by now Near knows who I am." She waited for Light to scowl, to yell, to show some sign of anger. She waited for him to take his 'competent comment' back. But none of those things happened. He looked too calm. She blinked at him. "Aren't you mad?"

"Don't worry about it," Light eventually told her. "I was worried that you'd screw up so badly that Near would meet you before tonight."

"So you're not upset?"

Light shook his head. "I want to tell you what you should do when that situation arises. But before that, I want to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

"About the guy that's following you, you're not infatuated with him are you?"

Thorn raised an eyebrow and glanced at a smirking Ryuk. At first she thought that Ryuk had been spying on her the last few days but she quickly dismissed the idea. She was certain that she would have noticed him watching her. Ryuk was too abnormal looking to be not seen. "What do you mean?" Thorn asked Light, trying to make sense of the situation.

Light shrugged. "Are you serious about him?"

"Shinsuke Yamamoto?" Thorn asked, not sure what he expected her to say.

"I know you'd never be interested in that guy. I mean the other one."

Thorn looked away. _He knows but he wants me to say it_, she thought, slightly annoyed. When Light stood, she quickly glanced at him, feeling wary. He walked around the table and sat on the same couch she was on. She tried to move back and Light grabbed her wrists. Thorn narrowed her eyes, not liking the gleam in Light's eyes. "You have to be a little more specific than that," she stated, doing well to hide her fear.

Ryuk chuckled behind her. "You know who it is. You were just kissing him in his car today."

Thorn was almost at a lost for words. "You mean Stephen Gevanni," she said automatically. _Light knows about him? How? _

"Yeah," Light responded.

"It was just a kiss," Thorn stated. "It meant nothing."

Her last statement wasn't as solid as her first. She was sure the kiss meant something because she had felt that so-called "spark" the moment their lips had met. Yet, she had this small doubt telling her that it had no meaning. Whether Gevanni had meant it or not, the kiss had been mind-blowing.

Thorn looked away from Light and repeated her last sentence again. It still did not come out solid as she wished it would. She swung her legs then started to cross and uncross them as she waited for Light to say something.

"Really?" That was all he said.

"Yes."

"Be honest with me. I don't want you to get distracted or anything."

"How do you know about that?" Thorn asked. "Did Ryuk tell you?"

"No. It was—!"

Thorn felt something pointy touch her shoulder, something that felt like a notebook. She looked over her shoulder and saw a new shinigami. The cloak that the shinigami adorned hid its long arms and hunched form. Red, mohawk-style hair and red irises in the center of black pools. His black lips were in a straight line. Thorn eyed the shinigami with mild interest. "Hello," she greeted, not sure what else to say.

The shinigami bowed. "Nice to meet you, Thorn. I'm Milos." The shinigami stuck out his hand. In it was a white Death Note. "This is for you."

Thorn took it, not sure what was going on. She looked at Light, waiting for instruction.

"Do you have any pieces of Ryuk's Death Note on you?"

She nodded.

"Give it to me and take a new piece from Milos' notebook."

Thorn reached into her bra, ignoring the look on Light's face. She found the tiny slit she had made and slipped her fingers into it, removing a folded piece of paper. She handed the piece of paper to Light. Not seeing the point of this, Thorn ripped out a fresh sheet from the white note and placed it into her bra.

Milos bowed again toward Thorn, surprising the woman. "I'm willing to serve you to the utmost fullest." He glanced at Light. "You, too, Light Yagami."

Thorn glanced at Light with a raised an eyebrow. _He's serving Light, too? Maybe to spy on me?_ Her dark eyes landed on the shinigami. "Thank you, Milos."

Light looked at Ryuk. _Good job, Ryuk. You found the perfect shinigami for Thorn. _

* * *

Near was back in his hotel room, eying the TV screens. Rester and Gevanni was there as well. They would have been in their hotel rooms but Near wanted to discuss something with them. They had been waiting for the last five minutes as Near sat in silence. One of the TVs showed Yamamoto entering his house, looking confused and upset. Gevanni couldn't help but feel bad for the man. His girlfriend was being accused of being the second Kira. He wondered how the man would feel if he told him about kissing his girlfriend.

"Gevanni, what's your personal opinion about Hisano Takahashi?" Near finally asked.

Gevanni thought. "Dark, possibly a little bit morbid but honest to some degree. She's not someone who likes to be reveal herself right away."

"Interesting that she could be Light's assistant," Near commented. "Unless she was forced to do it. Then she might be holding a grudge. We can use that to our advantage if she's not in love with him yet."

"Then we should keep an eye on her," Rester suggested. "Keep her away from Light before that happens."

"Right now, assuming she went to meet Light Yagami, that could be happening right now. Now that he has come this far, he wouldn't want to take any chances. To counter that, we can use Gevanni."

Gevanni raised an eyebrow, not sure how he would fit into this puzzle.

Near, almost reading his thoughts, stated, "You kissed her today and she responded in some way."

" . . . Why would you say that?"

"When you came back, you had a little lipstick by the side of your mouth. To make things even stranger, you were in a daze. I just simply put two and two together. So did you initiate the kiss or was it her?"

"It was me," he said after a while.

"Then that doesn't reveal much about her character, does it?"

"I guess it not."

"In the future, don't let your emotions get the best of you, Gevanni. It could cost you your life."

* * *

Light glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was only after ten. Then he looked into the kitchen. Thorn was pouring hot water from the kettle into two mugs. Then she reached into the cupboard, pulling out two tea bags from a box labeled 'Green Tea'. He watched as she dipped the tea bags into the hot water, trying o get the flavor. Then she put a teaspoon of sugar in each one.

"Yagami, do you want your tea bag in your tea?"

"Does it make a difference?"

"I don't know. I usually take mine out though."

"Leave it." Light heard some muttering from the corner and looked over. The two shinigami were standing there, both staring in his direction. Ryuk was grinning but Milos was frowning. Light quirked an eyebrow, not sure what the shinigami's problem was. Thorn placed the tea in front of Light, disrupting the man from his thoughts.

"Here," she said. The woman took the seat next to Light and drank some of her tea before setting the mug on the center table.

"Thanks," Light said after awhile.

"No problem."

Thorn stared at the man. After all the time she had been gone, she had almost forgotten how handsome he was. But she would never allow herself to fall for him. Light would never return her feelings. He would probably use her to his whims. Gevanni, on the other hand, actually liked her or she hoped he did. She groaned inwardly with herself. She never felt so caught up with men before.

"Is something wrong?" Light asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I have a question about your plan. You told me to give up ownership of the notebook if and only if I got captured. Why? Wouldn't I forget everything?"

"Anything related to the notebook," Light elaborated. "It's just a precaution incase Near decides to torture the information out of you. I don't want you revealing anything. And don't worry. You will get your memories back.."

"How?"

"Don't worry about it."

Thorn narrowed her eyes. Light was smirking as he was drinking his tea. The man actually found it amusing, leaving her in the dark like this. At least Gevanni didn't leave her in the dark. Not really anyway. He told her that he believed she was the second Kira, he told her where their "game" was going. Thorn shook her head at herself. _I can't believe I'm comparing Gevanni with Yagami._

Thorn sighed. "I won't worry about it then. I'll trust you on this, Yagami."

"That's all I need from you."

Light heard the shinigami muttering again. He stared at them and thought that Milos looked angry. _What the hell? _He was beginning to think every time he talked to Thorn, Milos would be jealous. To test his theory, he waited for Thorn to stop drinking her tea. When she finally put the mug down, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward his body. The moment he wrapped his arms around the shocked woman, he heard a growl. _Ryuk chose a crazy shinigami._

"What are you doing?" Thorn asked.

"Thanking you," Light lied, glancing at Milos. _He must be disappointed that he can't kill me._

"Then you're welcome," Thorn said. "But it's only tea."

"I meant for everything."

"Oh."

Milos glided over to them, casting a foreboding glare in Light's direction. "Thorn, you should prepare for tomorrow. You have to get up early."

Thorn pulled away from Light and picked up her mug. "You're right. But after I finish my tea."

Milos did not move. He stood by Thorn's side, keeping his red eyes on Light Yagami. Light ignored him the best he could but it was starting to get on his nerves. The man heard Ryuk chuckling. It reached the point where Light told Ryuk to leave the room if he wanted to continue his laughter. And poor Thorn did not understand what was going on around her.

* * *

It was the next morning.

Thorn was by the door putting on her boots. Light was watching her. "You won't forget, right?"

Thorn looked up as her foot went inside the boot. "You mean when I meet Near?" She got down on one knee and started to strap the both boots.

"Yeah."

Thorn did the last buckle and stood. Then she reached for her coat. "I won't. It's a very important part of your plan," she added as she put on her coat. She reached into her coat pockets, pulled out her gloves, and put them on. Thorn placed her hand on the doorknob. "Take care, Light Yagami."

"You, too."

Milos showed himself. "I'll make sure of that, Light."

Thorn saw Ryuk come out of the kitchen. "Bye, Ryuk."

"You're leaving now, huh? I'll see you in no time. Promise."

Thorn looked at Light and gave a quick bow of the head. With one hand, the woman slung her bag over her shoulder. She then turned the doorknob, pulled the door, and walked out. It was Light who closed the door again.

"What will you do about the Gevanni-issue?" Ryuk asked.

"Nothing. He'll hurt her in the end."

Ryuk grinned. "You always have a backup plan, Light. It's not surprising considering the type of person you are."

"That doesn't matter. I'm more concern about how much longer she will be alive for and if my plan will work. Milos might let her die."

Ryuk chuckled. "He might. He might not. You'll see."


	11. Chapter 11: Milos

**A/N: So here's Chapter 11. After this, there is only about 4 more chapters before the end of this story. Only two more chaps before the Near-Light showdown. Yeah. I'm that close to finishing it. There's some Light in this chapter but not as much as I want. As you can figure out, this chapter is mostly about Milos. Light has a bigger part in 13 and 14. You'll see. :) **

**CHAPTER 11**

**:Milos:**

Milos stood behind Thorn, watching over her as she read the menu. He did not like the man sitting acrpss from her, Stephen Gevanni as Thorn called him. Gevanni was taking most of Thorn's attention. Milos watched as Gevanni gave Thorn the once-over before looking at the menu in front of him. The woman thought it was no big deal but the shinigami did not take it lightly. "Can I kill him?" Milos asked.

Thorn gave a quick shake of the head and the shinigami sighed.

"Remember when we kissed?" Gevanni suddenly asked.

"I do," she replied.

"I shouldn't have done that. You have a boyfriend. But . . . I do have _some _feelings for you."

"Really? I . . ." Her voice trailed off. Gevanni, she had told herself sometime ago, was a handsome man and he seemed interested in her. Those were two pluses that she should go on. But he was working for the opposite side in this underground war Kira was waging. To admit any feelings for him would be admitting to a weakness. So Thorn re-composed herself and said, "That's nice to know."

Gevanni almost laughed. "That's interesting. At first, you were probably about to say something more meaningful but you changed it at the last second."

"What's your point?"

Gevanni smirked. "Maybe I should focus more on the investigation instead of trying to get an emotion out of you."

Thorn shrugged, taking no offense to the comment. "If you want."

It didn't matter to her as long as the two could keep having these meetings. Though she wasn't sure why, she liked being around the SPK member even if he was trying to prove she was the second Kira about twenty-five percent of the time. The other seventy-five percent of the time, which was talking, flirting, and other things, made the meetings worthwhile and that was probably why she enjoyed the company. Thorn felt sort of bad that she was having more "dates" with Gevanni than with her suppose-to-be boyfriend. Even Yamamoto noticed that they were more distant than usual. However, such thoughts did not occur to Thorn until she saw Yamamoto and for now, she was enjoying herself.

A waiter came to their table. "You have an order?"

"A large milkshake," Gevanni said. "Two straws."

"Two straws?" Thorn questioned. She could hear the shinigami growl behind her.

Gevanni looked out the window. "It's cheaper to buy one big milkshake than two small ones."

Thorn knew that he was somewhat hitting on her, even with this logic. Still she didn't mind. At least he had asked for _two _straws instead of just one.

* * *

Milos had left Thorn a few minutes ago. He was on top of the Tokyo Tower, waiting for Ryuk. Ryuk said six-thirty and it was well passed that time. Finally, Milos could see the shinigami flying toward him. When Milos had said he would serve Light, he had meant that he would report Thorn's actions. He would relay any observations to Ryuk who would then relay them to Light who would figure what he should do.

Ryuk landed on top of the tower. "Well? What's today's story?"

Milos sighed. "She's with that man again. They shared a milkshake. I wanted to kill him but Thorn told me no. They're still together as we speak."

Early this morning, Milos had met with Ryuk for his daily report on Thorn. It was then that the shinigami had admitted he was becoming possessive of the woman. Milos didn't want to share her with anyone. Just last night, he had asked Thorn if he could kill Yamamoto for sleeping next to her. Of course, Ryuk had laughed at his feelings, claiming it was pointless for shinigami feel such things for humans.

Ryuk was getting annoyed by Milos' constant complaints. "Just the other day, you wanted to kill Light for holding her."

"I don't want to share her, Ryuk."

"Well, get use to it. At this point, there are three men in her life. You're a shinigami and I'm certain Thorn is interested in human men. Anything else you want to add, Milos, before I leave?"

"Her life-span . . . it's been getting shorter."

"All life-spans get shorter."

"No, Ryuk. She's going to die today. Were you aware of this?"

"Well I have been noticing that her life-span wasn't where it could be but I didn't know her time would come today. I'll let Light know about this."

* * *

It was around seven o'clock when Thorn decided to part ways with Gevanni. The man offered her a ride home but she had refused. She told him she wanted to walk home tonight. Gevanni only nodded and hugged her goodbye before getting into his car and driving off. Thorn heard Milos let out a groan but ignored the shinigami. The shinigami had been annoying her the whole day about killing Gevanni for her. Though it was a good idea, Thorn did not want Gevanni to die yet.

"Thorn," Milos said. "I wish you took the ride with Gevanni."

"I thought you hated him," Thorn stated.

In front of her, she saw two men standing around, eying her. The woman stopped walking when one of them flashed a knife.

Milos sighed. "I hate them even more."

Thorn heard footsteps behind her and turned around. Two more men had positioned themselves behind her. Her dark eyes stared across the street, the only apparent way out of the situation. When the men was moving in closer, she darted across the street. Already the men took off after her. Thorn cursed the heels she was running in, wondering why she wanted to wear them today. She reached the sidewalk and stumbled. A hand grabbed her coat and pulled her back.

"I'm sorry," Milos said as he watched as they roughed her up a bit. _But by judging by your current life-span, I assume this is how you'll die._

* * *

Gevanni was at a red light, thinking about Thorn. He assumed he was worried about her safety. As if something bad was going to happen to her. He didn't understand why she didn't want a ride with him tonight. Was she going to meet Kira and wanted him out of the way?

The light turned green and he made a right. Then he made a U-turn in the street.

He had feeling which way she would take to reach her house. He would check to make sure she was going home. If she was not, then she was probably meeting Kira.

Thorn felt the knife cut her cheek. She knew that it was only a tease for what was about to come. It was either slash her or kill her. One of the four men was already holding her head back by the hair; another was holding her arms behind her back. One man was searching through her purse while the leader, she assumed, was holding the knife close to her face.

The leader looked back over his shoulder. "Tanaka."

The man searching her purse looked up.

"Come over. You want to be part of this gang, come here."

Tanaka dropped the purse and came over. "What's my initiation?"

"Slit her throat."

Tanaka blinked and looked at Thorn. Then he took the knife and stooped down next the woman. The knife touched her neck and immediately Thorn kicked, successfully bringing Tanaka down on his knees. The pain did not go unreciprocated; her head snapped back by a powerful yank. She gasped in pain.

"You bitch!" Tanaka spat as he waited for the pain to pass. Eventually, the pain subsided enough that he was able to move.

Thorn closed her eyes. _Light's has to be behind this_, she thought as she remembered Shimada. _If he did not want me around anymore, he could have told me to give up ownership of the note. I would have gladly done that without a problem._

Milos watched from above, his Death Note out. "Are you accepting death, Thorn, because you see no way out?"

Thorn opened her eyes and saw the man hovering above her, smirking. She hated the anticipation of death. She wanted it to be done with. It was like the first time she knew she was going to die. She had to go through the entire morning in torment. At least she knew how she was going to die. Getting slit across the throat shouldn't be so bad. From all the movies she seen, her blood would come out excessively, she would try to keep it all in, and the she would die. It wouldn't be painful at all, she reassured herself.

There was a second slit on her cheek. Thorn bit her lip. _That wasn't so bad, was it?_

Thorn stared at Takada, waiting for it to come. When the knife pressed against her neck, Takada's expression changed drastically and he pulled the knife. Thorn frowned, not sure what to think. The man lashed out with the knife and the woman flinched. She was surprised to hear a strange gurgling sound and the grip on her hair loosen.

"What are you doing?" The leader exclaimed.

Thorn felt something wet hit her face and had to open her eyes. Takada had attacked the man who had her hair. Now the hair gripper was holding his throat, unable to stop the blood flow, blood spurting everywhere: on the sidewalk, on her clothes, on her face. Thorn raised an eyebrow, staring in shock and disbelief at what had just happened. Wasn't that suppose to be her?

She heard a funny sound next to her coming from the guy who had been restraining her the whole time. He let go of her and gripped his chest before falling over. _Heart attack? Someone is using the Death Note. This can't be a coincident—!_

The leader was tackled into the ground next to her, Takada trying to attack. However, the leader was holding onto the man's wrist, trying to turn the knife against its wielder. However the struggle proved useless; in no time Takada overpowered the leader and stabbed the man in the heart several times.

Thorn slowly moved away, eying Takada soaked in his comrade's blood.

"Hisano!"

She turned around and saw Gevanni running toward her, his gun out. The SPK member reached her and pointed his gun at the man. "Don't move!"

Takada ignored the warning and committed suicide.

* * *

The lights on top of police cars flashed as investigators examined the crime scene. The bodies of the four men were already gone. Though the criminals were taken care of, the victim and only witness was forced to stand and wait. Standing next to her was a silent Gevanni. Thorn sort of wished he would say something to take her mind off of this. The more she thought about it, the angrier at Light she became. Why would he do this to her?

"Are you okay?"

Thorn turned around. The first few words of Gevanni.

"I'm fine."

"Usually people wouldn't look so . . . reserved after being attacked and seeing people die that way."

"Are you insinuating that I did this?"

"That would make a lot of sense why they would turn against each other and one had a heart attack. But I doubt it was you . . . even _if_ you look calm. I would have seen the notebook."

Thorn sighed and looked the other way. "Am I suppose to be crying? If I have to, it won't be in front of you."

Gevanni sighed. To think that they were just having a good time this afternoon and now the day had ended like this. He glanced at the woman, her eyes focused on police investigating the crime scene and taking blood samples. _I'm surprise she can act so compose for so long. Is it really because I'm here that she hasn't broken down yet?_

His blue eyes then landed on the gauze taped on her cheek. The cut had been taken care of by the paramedics that had arrived on the scene to deal with the bodies. The paramedics had told her that it shouldn't scar for it was a shallow cut.

His thoughts were interrupted by a ringing sound. It took Gevanni a while to notice that the sound was coming from Thorn's pocket. The woman glanced at him before pulling out the cell phone. He watched her check the caller ID and saw when her eyes narrowed. "Aren't you going to answer it?"

Thorn glared at Gevanni, assuming he thought it was Kira. She pressed the green button and held the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Thorn—!"

The woman sighed. "Now isn't the time."

"Just listen to me. I was not responsible for tonight."

"So you know?"

"I know that you're thinking I planned but I didn't."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I actually saved your life tonight if that changes anything."

Thorn's dark eyes widened, her grip on the phone tightening. Right now, it didn't matter if Gevanni was watching her reactions. She was too much in shock. The idea that Light Yagami—Kira—would save her life wasn't plausible. After all the crap he put her through, he was telling her he had a change of heart and did something good. She shook her head in disbelief and sighed deeply. "You're lying," she stated.

"No, I'm not. I was lying a few months ago that you were going to have a long life."

"I don't understand."

"When I revived you, I had a feeling you were not going to live long. I just couldn't tell when you were going to die. Remember how I didn't give you a notebook right after you were revived?"

"Yeah. I got it a week later."

"I didn't want to give you a Death Note right away because I wanted to see how your life-span changed over time. After discovering the rate of change, I approximate you would die this month.

"I asked for Ryuk so he could go into the shinigami realm and find you a shinigami, one that would sacrifice itself for you so you could live longer. As you know, that happened to be Milos. I must admit, I was worried at first. He was possessive and I began to think he would let you die so no one could have you. But the fact that you answered this phone means that he did sacrifice himself. Your life-span, after adding those of the people who died, is probably a lot longer than a normal human's. Maybe it's even double. You could trade for the shinigami eyes any time you wanted to."

"So you're not lying to me now?"

"Thorn, you very important to me and I don't want to lose you."

Thorn glanced at the ground, thinking about what he just said to her. "I see."

" . . . I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure." Thorn closed her cell phone and put it back into her pocket.

Thorn was overwhelmed by her emotions. She was confused, she was angry, she was shocked, she was happy. She wished Light was here; she wanted to thank him over and over again. She felt that she could do anything for him right now if he had asked. Suddenly a new feeling started to settle in. That feeling was relief.

"Hisano, are you okay?" Gevanni asked. "You're crying."

Thorn buried her face into his coat, her hands clutching on to it. Tears falling, mascara running; it couldn't get any better than this._ Gevanni got the stupid reaction he was looking for_, Thorn thought to herself. "I don't want people to see me crying," she explained as to why she was holding onto him. The woman did not want him thinking it was anything more than that.

Gevanni stared helplessly at the girl. He wanted to hold her but decided against it; he was still working for Near and needed to prove whether the woman was the second Kira.

"You want a handkerchief?" He asked, reaching into his pocket.

Thorn quickly turned away from him, making sure he couldn't see her face. Then she stuck her hand out. Gevanni understood and placed the handkerchief in her hand. Thorn looked at it, seeing it was white with red embroidery. In the corner was a small 'S'. _For 'Stephen'_, she thought and pressed it against her face, surprised at how soft it felt. Quickly, she wiped her tears and any running mascara. When she was certain her face was clean, she looked at Gevanni and held out the handkerchief. "Here."

"You can keep it," Gevanni told her.

Thorn gave him a small smile and looked the other way. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Gevanni said slowly. _Could she really be the second Kira? She's so . . . I don't know. I haven't completely figured her out yet. _

"Hisano!"

Thorn glanced to her left and saw her boyfriend running toward her. Before she could get a word out, Yamamoto held her against his body. Immediately he pulled away and kissed her on the forehead. "Sorry that I couldn't get here sooner. Aizawa called me not too long ago and told me about it. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Thorn glanced at Gevanni. He was staring at her and Yamamoto. Slowly, she tore her dark eyes away. _I wish he wasn't making me feel guilty like this. _She looked up and saw something flying away. Her eyebrows furrowed. She believed that was Ryuk.

* * *

"Here's Milos' book," Ryuk said, holding out a black Death Note for Light to take.

Light reached for it and opened it up to the last entry. Four names, written in a clear chain reaction. "Her life-span must be very long," Light mused out loud. "Even she wouldn't have a problem doing the trade."

Ryuk chuckled. "How are you so sure she'll make the trade?"

"She won't make it now but she will in the future. I already mentioned the possibility to her. Now, if everything goes my way, Gevanni will be the reason why."

"You sound so certain about this," Ryuk commented as he went into the kitchen and got a yellow apple to eat. Unfortunately, there was no red apples left.

Light smirked. "I understand Thorn better each day."

**A/N: Thanks to badkidoh for reviewing as always. Leave a review, peeps, and I'll give you a cookie. Or something like that. Till later.**


	12. Chapter 12: Evidence

**A/N: Okay. This is Major Updating Week for me. I uploaded two new chapters plus a mini-chap for my Bleach fanfic yesterday. Today, I have two new chapters for this story. This one has a little bit of Light. The next one has more. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 12**

**:Evidence:**

Gevanni was picking the lock to Cho's apartment, making sure no one was around.

About week ago, Thorn broke up with Yamamoto and moved in with Cho. Gevanni had to install new surveillance cameras into the apartment and everything. Near had forgotten about his other possible suspects. "Thorn", as Cho called her, was who Near strongly believed to be the second Kira.

For the last few weeks, Gevanni had been trailing Thorn, trying to see if she had a daily routine. However, she was not as methodical like Teru Mikami. She came to the gallery each morning if she had to work and stayed there until 4 p.m. From the gallery, she either went home, hung out with Cho, or went somewhere by herself, which varied from time to time. On the days she was off, she mostly stayed in the apartmentbut sometimes she would go out to the mall or to the grocery store. The woman was almost unpredictable; it was hard to notice if something was out of the ordinary.

The only predictable thing was that she wouldn't be back from work until after four.

_Good thing they both work in the same place_, Gevanni thought as the lock clicked open_. At least they're both out of the way._

After making sure no one was watching, he opened the door and walked inside.

He immediately noticed the amount of paintings covering the walls. There were sad paintings, serene sceneries, ones that confused him, everything that was imaginable. Already, he could see a corner of the apartment had been dedicated to painting.

It was the work of arts that decorated the walls that gave the apartment life. The apartment would have been sort of bare without them. There wasn't a lot of furniture; one couch, a center table, a small rug, a table in the kitchen surrounded by four chairs. He wondered if it was Cho's preference or something that many artists preferred.

His blue eyes stopped on one painting. There was mostly black and white, with a few gray hints here and there. In the painting was a happy mouse nibbling on a piece of cheese. Next to the small adorable creature was a mousetrap, which had already went off. However, right in the background, unnoticed by the mouse, was cat. The SPK member was sure there was a message in the painting but he couldn't see it.

Gevanni saw the artist's signature on the bottom right hand corner. _Thorn Divine . . . somehow that doesn't surprise me._

He walked down the hallway and entered the first room on his left. This was where Thorn was staying. He glanced around the room, memorizing how it looked. Then he started his search for the Death Note.

The man started checking underneath her bed, between the mattress, underneath the pillows and rugs. He opened up the closet and started to go through her clothes. The closet was organized; black colors were on one side of the closet while brighter colors were on the on the other side. After looking through the closet twice, he found nothing. He headed over to the dresser and opened a drawer.

The drawer contained all her underwear and bras. Raising an eyebrow, he sifted through them. He thought that maybe she had hidden some pieces of the Death Note in the drawer, thinking no one would go there. If she did, she thought wrong.

Gevanni lifted up a black laced bra and examined it. He noticed a small slit near the top of one of the bra cups. _That's weird . . . it looks like it's been cut, not torn, so 'Amaya' did it on purpose. _He placed his fingers into the slit and felt around, wondering if she was hiding something inside of it. He found nothing.

He picked up another bra and saw a similar slit. He started to check the rest of them, discovering that most of them had similar slits. _Could she be putting pieces of the Death Note into these holes? You can't notice them unless you're really looking for them. Not like you can when she's wearing the bra._

His cell phone vibrated and Gevanni answered. "Hello?"

"Gevanni, it's Rester. The suspect and her friend are leaving work already. It's time that you clear out."

"Got it." Gevanni hung up and started to put the room exactly how he found it. He did not want her to know anyone had entered when she had been gone. Before he left, he stood in the doorway, making sure the room was how it was when he first entered. When he was certain everything was where it was suppose to be, he left the room and exited the apartment, locking the door behind him. Then he used the stairs to reach the lobby.

Just at that moment, Thorn and Cho walked inside the apartment complex. Cho was talking excitedly but Thorn wasn't paying much attention. Her thoughts were on Light and Near and everything associated with Kira.

Thorn spotted Gevanni entering the lobby. Frowning, she approached him. _Why is he here_, she asked herself. _Is he waiting for me or is he here for something else? Judging by the look on his face, he's not excited to see me. Maybe he didn't want to?_

"Hello," Thorn greeted, folding her arms.

"Hi," Gevanni said, glancing her over.

"Do you want me or are you here for something else?"

_Straight to the point as usual_, Gevanni thought. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm staying at the Tokyo Hotel and there's a nice restaurant on the main floor. I was wondering if we can have dinner there tonight."

Cho giggled and nudged Thorn. "Lucky. You just broke up with one guy and there's already another one asking you out."

"Why?" Thorn asked Gevanni, paying no mind to Cho. She did not see the situation as lucky; her guard had went up the moment he had asked the question.

"Is it wrong to ask a woman on a date?"

"In the situation we're in, yes, it is."

Gevanni scratched the back of his head, his blue eyes on Thorn. Then he reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper and pen. He quickly scribbled something down and handed the paper to her. "It's my cell phone number," he explained. "Call me if you change your mind."

"I'll think about it," Thorn stated as the man walked passed her. She turned around and watched the SPK member walk out. It was starting to snow lightly. She wondered if she could manage to get out and meet the guy if she wanted to.

"So are you going to go or not?" Cho asked.

Thorn shrugged. "Probably not."

* * *

Light heard the phone ring and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hello."

Light raised an eyebrow. It was Thorn. He hadn't heard from her the last couple of weeks. Not like he didn't want to talk to her because he want to warn her about something first. But he had believed that he would be the one calling her. He couldn't see anything significant happening to her so soon. Considering she was the prime suspect in the Kira case, though, he supposed something must have came up.

"What happened?"

"Gevanni asked me on a date and I'm going."

Light sighed. "Really? That's why you called? To share the news?"

"No. I just find it weird for him to ask me. I'm beginning to wonder if he plans to arrest me later tonight."

"Go anyway. If he does, then it'll work in our favor. One more thing. I want to use Cho for something."

"Why?"

Light could hear the apprehension in her voice. Thorn, even though slightly annoyed with the woman, was attached to Cho. Even so, she should have realized that she would have to break such bonds. "I want her to get something for me but under her name. I figure that since she knows too much and is better off dead, I might as well use her before she dies."

". . . I wouldn't feel comfortable about that."

"Thorn, there are more important people in your life that can die."

"Even so . . . Isn't there someone else you can use? Anyone else besides Cho?"

"Thorn—!"

"Please, Yagami? This is the only favor I want from you."

Light groaned. "I won't then."

"I have to go. Talk to you later."

"Whatever." Light hung up and leaned back into the couch. He told himself he had to have patience with Thorn. After all, she had been very competent so far during the last few months. And he definitely preferred her over Misa Amane, probably Kiyomi Takada as well. In addition, he needed Thorn's full cooperation for his backup plan. He looked at the shinigami, who was devouring an apple.

Ryuk threw the core in the garbage. "You've grown soft, Light," he commented. "I think you might actually have feelings for Thorn."

Light closed his eyes. "I don't, Ryuk. I just don't want her upset. Besides, I still have Hiroko if I can't use Cho."

"Hiroko?"

"A girl I've been seeing. Later tonight, you need to see Thorn. She might get arrested."

* * *

Gevanni was glancing at his watch. It was already eight o'clock. "Where is she?"

He had told Near about his theory, about where he believed Thorn could have hid pieces of the Death Note. Near told him he could check his theory. Now Gevanni wondered how he could do that. It had been difficult to just get Thorn here. He had been surprised that she called him later, agreeing to the date. To get a hold of the bra she was wearing — that would be harder and awkward.

"Stephen."

He looked up and saw Thorn. She was standing there dressed in a coat, hiding whatever outfit she was wearing underneath. Because she had just came inside, the snowflakes on her coat were still melting. Her red hair was done in a bun, her bangs free to fall over her forehead. Dangling from her earlobes were ivory hoops.

"Hello," he said.

Thorn glanced him over and took a deep breath. "Should we go?"

"Yeah."

Thorn followed Gevanni through the restaurant. Immediately, she realized how fancy the place actually was. There were hanging chandeliers, all different kinds of forks and spoons for "proper" dining, waiters and waitresses dressed formally in black and white, the small tables decorated to perfection, and the list went on. Thorn wondered why people would spend the night in such an expensive hotel. To her, money could be spent on better things.

"I'll pay half the bill," she told Gevanni.

"You don't have to. I want to treat you to the whatever you want tonight."

Thorn followed Gevanni to a quaint table in a corner. It was out of people's way; they could talk about anything without attracting much attention.

Thorn removed her coat, revealing the black and ivory dress she had on. Ignoring the man's stare, she put the coat behind the chair and sat down. Her dark eyes met blue ones before they moved on to look at the dinner rolls in the center of the table.

"Stephen, why are you being nice to me?" Thorn asked, reaching for a dinner roll. "You suspect me of being the second Kira."

"Why do you have to ask such questions?"

"I have doubts about being here with you."

Gevanni sighed. "Were you like this with Yamamoto?"

"No."

"I'm not going to try to hurt you on purpose."

She stared him, face impassive. "So you are liable to hurt me?"

Before Gevanni could say a word, a waiter came to their table. "What would you like to order?"

* * *

They had just finished dinner. Thorn couldn't believe she was following Gevanni to his hotel room. Common sense was telling her to go back to the lobby and ask for her own room. However, she did not have much money to spare since she had to pay her apartment's rent and half of the rent for Cho's. In addition, it was still snowing outside and it would be difficult to get home. At least Gevanni was giving her a place to stay for free and he was a gentleman overall.

Gevanni stopped in front of a door labeled "308" and slid his card key through the scanner. The door handle beeped, flashing a green light, and he turned it. He entered his spacious room, Thorn close behind him.

"It looks expensive," Thorn said, eying the white carpet.

"It is."

"Are you paying for it or is L?"

"Does it matter?"

"It doesn't. I was just curious."

Gevanni glanced back at the redhead. She was always so honest with most of his questions. Most people would have been stubborn toward his attitude and argue. At times, he wondered if she was a pushover. That could be why she would help someone like Kira. But the look in her dark eyes told him otherwise, that she was far from being a pushover.

After Thorn dropped her jacket onto a chair, she felt arms wrap around her waist, bringing her against his body. "What are you doing?"

His reply came in the form of a kiss on the cheek.

Gevanni tried to tell himself that this was the only way to prove his theory. Yet as he left his first mark, he felt guilty, knowing that if she found out, she would hate him. Still, despite this, he continued kissing her neck, liking the feel of her warm, soft skin against his lips. Then she pulled away and he frowned. The woman turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then she kissed him fully.

Thorn didn't understand why she felt the way she did. Her body wanted something from the SPK member and she had a feeling what that something was. She lusted for this man in her arms to the point that it hurt. Yet she was nervous too; she was losing herself in the moment and knew that inevitably she would surrender all control to him. It took less than a minute to give in.

She allowed him to guide her hands to his tie, his blazer, the buttons on his shirt. And like she expected, he needed no guidance. Her dress hit the floor in a matter of minutes. Her pace being slower, the shirt he was wearing fell on top of the dress a minute later.

Gevanni led her to the bed and pushed her down onto it. He continued kissing her, his hands roaming over her body. He slowly pulled away and looked into her dark eyes.

"Do you want to do this?"

Although the butterflies in her stomach was flying wildly, she nodded. "Yes, I do."

Gevanni slipped her bra straps from her shoulders before unhooking the contraption and dropping it by the side of the bed. After eying her for a quick second, he kissed her passionately. As they kissed, he understood Thorn's carnal needs. As his hands passed over her hot skin, he knew how to satisfy those needs. And as his tongue ran its way down her body, he knew what aroused her. The man listened to her moan and whisper his name. It was wonderful; it was heaven. He was almost certain that she liked him, loved him as her fingers ran through his hair. If it wasn't for that nagging thought of her being the second Kira.

He stopped.

"Sorry," he told her as he got off her.

The moment all the warmth disappeared, Thorn covered her chest. She was confused by the abrupt stop. Was something wrong with her? She didn't think so but a guy's perspective was always different.

"Why don't you go get ready for bed?" Gevanni suggested, unable to look at her. "It's getting late."

"Alright then," Thorn replied, hurt that he did not want her the way she wanted him.

* * *

Ten minutes after the incident, Thorn came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a large shirt and long sweatpants that pooled at her feet. Her arms were folded across her chest. She wanted to get her bra and put it on. It felt awkward not wearing one. She saw Gevanni leaning against the door. "I forgot something that I need."

She spotted the bra on the floor and quickly picked it up. Then she hurried to the bathroom. After putting on her bra and fixing her clothes, Thorn placed her hand on the doorknob. However, she didn't opened the door.

_Something isn't right_, Thorn thought. _Something is bothering him but what? And why is he standing by the door like that? It's almost like he doesn't want me to leave . . . _Slowly, she reached into her bra and found the slit. After searching for a minute, anxiety set in and she had a feeling that he found the piece of the Death Note. She didn't move, wondering what she should do, how she should escape. If it was only Gevanni, she could escape. If the rest of the SPK and the Task Force was out there, she was practically screwed over.

She came out of the bathroom and stared at Gevanni.

"What do you want to do now?" She asked solemnly.

"Don't know."

"If you don't know," Thorn said, slipping on her heels, "Can you move? I'll go down to the lobby."

She walked up to the door but the man did not move. He just looked down at her. Thorn realized that he would not permit her to leave the room without a good reason to. She looked into his blue eyes to see if he would falter but he did not. The woman finally decided to nudge passed him and placed her hands on the doorknob. She waited for him to stop her. When he did not, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

She saw who she had dreaded to see, all with their guns pointed at her.

Aizawa cleared his throat. "Amaya Kusonoki, you are under arrest."

Thorn narrowed her eyes when her arms were yanked behind her back. She looked over her shoulder, glaring at Gevanni. "So you used me tonight?"

Gevanni placed the handcuffs around her wrists. "You are the second Kira, aren't you? How am I so sure you didn't use me?"

Thorn heard a cackle and turned to look in front. Ryuk stood in front of her, grinning like crazy. At first she wanted to yell at the shinigami why he was here in front of the police but then she remembered that they couldn't see him. They had a piece of Milos' Death Note, not Ryuk's, and that shinigami was gone. Thorn almost wanted to laugh. Light had planned this out good and she was impressed.

"I'll be with you," Ryuk said. "Until you give up ownership and I erase your memories. You'll remember being arrested and meeting Light but anything associated with the use of the Death Note or the 'Book of Existence' will be forgotten. Do you want to give up ownership now, Thorn?"

The redhead gave a subtle shake of the head.

**A/N: And that's the end of this chapter. First tidbit of romance in this story and I don't think there's any more up ahead. Thanks to badkidoh, Xx-Alone-In-The-Rain-xX, and No Name 4 You for reviewing. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter and hopefully I'll update this story next week. Till later.**


	13. Chapter 13: Near

**A/N: After this, three more chapters till this story is finished. The next to is easy to plan out. I have an idea for this story. The last chapter, I have two endings and I don't know which one yet. Might have to open a poll soon or something. Who knows?**

**CHAPTER 13**

**:Near:**

"Amaya 'Thorn Divine' Kusonoki," the current L began. "I am Near. I'm certain that Light has mentioned me."

Thorn was in a room, bound to a chair and blindfolded. She could only hear, talk, and smell. However, two of the three were not good; she would limit talking and she couldn't smell the person unless he was really close. Thorn decided she would be a listener in this situation. She listened to the footsteps around her, the person's voice changing direction with each step. To think that she was in the same room with Near and couldn't see what he was like - it was frustrating.

"Ms. Kusonoki, I will ask a few questions and all you have to do is answer them. Don't try to protect Light; it is not in your favor to do so."

Thorn took a deep breath and let it out. Near was wrong. Protecting Light _was_ in her favor. He had control of her life, not Near. In addition, Light could give her so much more. Betraying Kira was not an option and if it was, it was not a good one. The woman waited for Near's questions, preparing to say nothing. She would remain calm and composed, even with Ryuk standing behind her, constantly asking when she would give up ownership. She heard Near say:

"Where is Light Yagami?"

Thorn did not answer. She simply curled her hands into fists. She heard the footsteps get louder, meaning that the person was getting closer.

"I know you know his whereabouts, Ms. Kusonoki."

"I don't know where he is," Thorn replied.

"So you do know him." Statement, not question.

Thorn kept a leveled-head to respond to him in a competent matter. "I never said that. I just answered your question." Thorn heard some shuffling sounds and the snap of an elastic. Frowning, she listened to a chair being pulled in her direction.

Near said, "Remove the blindfold, Gevanni." The twitch of the corner of her mouth did not go unnoticed by Near.

Thorn felt the blindfold come off and opened her dark eyes, allowing herself to adjust to the lighting. There was only one light hanging overhead and it had to be on her. The rest of the room was dim. Still she could see Gevanni walking back to his spot between Matsuda and Aizawa. She shot him a cold glare. If she wasn't tied down, she would have punch him. Leading her on, taking advantage of her, and then handing her over? It only reminded her why she was better off without men.

"I'm over here."

Thorn looked back and saw Near. He was wearing a strange, plastic mask with round eyes and black hair. At first, she didn't understand why he was wearing the mask. Then it made sense. _He's taken into account that I can have the eyes_, she thought. She stared into the eye holes of the mask and met his gaze.

"Ms. Kusonoki, if you don't want to talk about Light Yagami yet, let's talk about you first."

Ryuk got down next Thorn's ear. "Do you want to give it up now? This isn't as amusing as I hoped it would be."

"Why use a fake alias while you were dating Shinsuke Yamamoto?"

"Come on, Thorn, do what Light told you to do."

"I need an answer, Ms. Kusonoki. Why?"

"Just give up the notebook before you ruin this for Light."

"Was it because using your real name would make it easier for us to locate Light Yagami?"

"Thorn, you're wasting my time."

"Ms. Kusonoki, answer. I want to avoid using force."

_Force? Is he kidding me. It's better now than never. I don't want to keep Light back any longer. _Thorn tilted her head back, pretending it was out of annoyance. She made eye contact with the shinigami, to make sure he knew that she was talking only to him. "I give it up," she whispered.

Near narrowed his eyes. "What was that?"

Ryuk grinned. "Finally, Thorn. I thought you were never going to ask."

* * *

Light had taken the night off from writing criminals. He had written two pages worth of names. That should be enough for now to satisfy the Task Force and the world. He had other things to be worried about.

Like what he should do for the final showdown between him and Near. There were so many things that could go wrong on that day if he was prepared. Light had the eyes but it wouldn't do him any good if Near wore a mask. If 'L' decided to wear a mask, Light would have to find a way to remove it. He could use the Death Note and have an outside person do the job. But there was no guarantee that the method would be successful. Then he had to take into account Thorn.

If he messed up somehow and he got caught, he needed her to work from the outside. If she helped them, they would let her go free, thinking she would not be a threat. That would be the case if she never touched Milos' white notebook again. But she would have to for his backup plan. That was another thing he would have to figure out: how could she get her hands on a Death Note without drawing attention to herself. The white Death Note was on his dresser, untouched so he couldn't take possession of it. He could ask Ryuk to take care of it but would the shinigami listen to him?

At that moment, Ryuk came into the room, eating an apple. Light raised an eyebrow. "She gave up ownership already?"

"She did," Ryuk replied. "She still has the same personality, even without her memories."

"That shouldn't be a surprise, Ryuk. Misa still had the same annoying personality without her memories."

"Yeah but you became a completely different person without yours."

"This is about Thorn, not me, remember? Right now, everything depends on how she deals with Near. I hope that it does not goes wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"If she doesn't gain Near's trust to help him catch me. If that happens, I need to rethink my entire plan."

"I'm curious. How will you contact Near to meet you?"

"They have Thorn's cell phone in their possession. I'll use that, assuming that it hasn't died yet. But I have to come up with a place for us to meet. "

"All I have to say, Light, is don't lose again. You have eternal life and I'll be attached to you forever. I don't want to spend the rest of eternity in boredom."

"You won't. I'll make sure I win this time."

"So where's Hiroko?"

"She left already. You'll see her soon, Ryuk."

* * *

"I don't remember."

Near sighed. That was the tenth time she had given that reply to a question. He was wondering if she was actually being truthful. Could Kira have wiped her memory clean? If that was the case, he was wasting his time. She wouldn't give him any information about Light Yagami. Unless she remembered to protect him. "You admitted you met Light Yagami. Are you in love with him, Ms. Kusonoki?"

"I rather not think about that possibility."

Near stared at her, wondering if that was a serious answer. "Is there any reason behind that?"

Thorn shrugged. "It would be weird if I did, knowing that he doesn't think much of me."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't see me as a potential lover. He sees me more as an assistant."

"An assistant to what?"

"Not to the Kira killings if that is what you're thinking."

Near frowned. _Before she would hardly give a reply. Now she's giving me answers but not the ones that I hope. She replying as if she had nothing to do with the murders. Bad thing is, I think she's being truthful. _Near asked, "Did Light force you to be his assistant?"

"He did. I don't remember how though."

"Have you been in contact with him over the last few months?"

" . . . I have. Sometimes he calls my cell phone. Other times I call him."

"He has a phone?"

"No. He's staying in my apartment."

"Impossible!" Matsuda suddenly exclaimed. "We have cameras installed in Cho's apartment! We would have seen him unless . . . he's Cho!"

Thorn looked at the officer. "No. Cho's a woman. What I meant is that Light is living in my old apartment."

"Is that so," Near said. _That would explain why she had an alias. The apartment under Amaya Kusonoki could easily be found if we knew her real name. She had to change her name to 'Hisano Takahashi' so no files could be found on her. _"Where is this apartment?"

* * *

Light was about to leave the apartment complex, wearing a hat and a hood. He carried a backpack, inside of it all the Death Notes he and Thorn had used. He was on the ground floor, fixing his coat when Aizawa, Matsuda, and Yamamoto walked in. He had a feeling this would happen. To think they were walking passed him without noticing that he was Kira. Light almost wanted to laugh out loud.

As the police officers took the elevator, Light walked out of the apartment complex.

"You're lucky," Ryuk said. "They would have caught you if you had taken any longer."

"And I would have killed them."

"If they didn't get you first. Where are you going to?"

"To a friend's house."

"You mean that girl you met recently, right? The one you've been hanging around with while Thorn was doing your petty work in Tokyo?"

Light sighed, making his way on the snow-covered sidewalk. "Thorn was doing her part. I was preparing for the moment they would come to Thorn's apartment. I needed to find someone who I can stay a while with. That's the only purpose for Hiroko. I'll write her name in the notebook soon."

"Does Thorn know about her?"

"Why does she need to know? It doesn't affect her."

Ryuk cackled. It was amusing that Light wouldn't mention to Thorn that he was at least seeing someone. It made the shinigami wonder what was there to hide. He didn't believe Thorn was the jealous type and would mind Hiroko's presence.

The shinigami watched Light use a payphone. _Must be calling Hiroko._

* * *

"He's not there, Ms. Kusonoki," Near told Thorn, readjusting his mask to make it more comfortable. Aizawa had recently contacted him about the recent failure. Once again, Light had escaped and was untraceable. He wondered how much time they had missed Light Yagami by.

The woman mused about the recent develop. "I guess he left. I wonder why."

"He probably knew we would come."

"How long will I remain in your custody?" Thorn asked.

Near stared at her. "Until we capture Light."

"Then since I can't go anywhere, can I help you in the mean time with the case?"

"But you support Kira, don't you?"

"I do but since you captured me, I should be helping you, not Kira, in this situation. I can't leave here until Kira is caught and I don't want to spend my entire time doing nothing. Plus I've been doing a good job answering your questions as much as possible. I think it's only fair that you let me know what's going on around here, Near."

"I'll think about," Near said after some time. "In the mean time, you will be locked inside a room."

"Alright then," Thorn said.

Near stood and left the room. Matsuda, Gevanni, and Aizawa exchanged glances, wondering who was willing to take the woman to her room. Aizawa sighed and decided he would take her. The man approached Thorn and started to untie the ropes that bound her to the chair. When he was done, Thorn stuck her hands out. Aizawa gave her a quizzical look.

"Handcuffs, right?"

Aizawa scratched his head. "Yeah, but behind your back."

Thorn placed her arms behind her back and heard the click of the handcuffs. Then Aizawa led her to the door. On her way out, Thorn gave Gevanni a dirty look and he adverted his gaze. She was still angry at him. Now she wished she hadn't allowed herself to be handcuffed so easily. She could have gotten away from Aizawa and do something to Gevanni. Maybe slap him across the face or kick him in the groin. However those would only satisfy her for only a minute. She wanted to do something long-lasting.

"Can't even look at me?" Thorn asked.

Gevanni glanced at her before looking the other way. "I'll take her, Aizawa."

"Are you sure?" Matsuda asked.

"I could kill you," Thorn added.

"I'll take the risk just to clear some things up about you."

"Don't even bother. I understand enough to know how much of a bastard you are." Thorn turned toward Aizawa. She kept her calm facade going. "Mr. Aizawa, can we go now?"

"Of course," the man replied and led Ms. Kusonoki out of the room.

* * *

"Light, you're not going to spend the whole night on the computer, are you?"

"Of course not, Hiroko."

Since the time Light came into Hiroko's apartment, he had been using her computer. He was trying to find an abandon place for the meeting, one that was far from people and one that could be used to his advantage. However, his search was bringing up nothing so far and Light wanted to continue until he found something reasonable. However, Hiroko's patience was wearing thin.

"How much longer, Light? I need you!"

"Ten minutes," Light replied, slightly annoyed. He went back to the computer, scrolling down the page.

"Your woman's getting impatient," Ryuk commented. "Does she have an apples around here?"

"You can't eat any. Hiroko doesn't know about you."

"But you know what I'm like without apples," Ryuk whined.

"Deal with it for the mean time," Light said. His reddish brown eyes widened as he stared at the web page. He saw the abandoned warehouse where the first showdown has taken place five years ago. He smirked. It wasn't a bad choice. The same place where Kira had met his downfall would be the same place where he would be the victor. The warehouse would be the perfect place. All he needed to do was familiarize himself with its layout and plan from there.

Suddenly the computer screen went black. Light stared at the monitor before glancing down. There was Hiroko, twirling the white cord in her hands. Seeing the lingerie through the sheer top she was wearing, it was obvious to Light exactly what she was waiting for.

"Ten minutes is up," Hiroko said, smiling seductively. "I've been waiting long enough."

Ryuk laughed. "She's pretty controlling."

_Can't wait to kill her_, Light thought as he got off the chair and kissed the woman roughly on the lips. _After I defeat Near, I'll just focus on being Kira._

* * *

Matsuda was looking through the Kira files when he heard a phone ringing. He patted his pockets until he found his cell but when he took it out, he realize it wasn't his. He looked at Mogi sitting across from him but the officer shook his head. Yamamoto, who was also in the room, glanced over at the table where all of Thorn's belongings were. He realized that it was her cell phone. Yamamoto gulped, not sure who it could be. "Should I answer it?"

"We shouldn't, right?" Matsuda questioned. "Isn't it considered evidence?"

"But what if it's Kira?" Yamamoto asked.

Mogi sighed and walked over to the table. "I'll answer it."

He flipped the phone open and saw that the Caller ID said 'Unknown'. He frowned and pressed the green telephone button. Then he pressed speaker; he wanted Yamamoto and Matsuda to be able to listen. "Hello?"

"Where's Near, Mogi?"

Matsuda gasped. "That's Light's voice!"

"He's busy right now," Mogi replied, casting a look at Matsuda.

"Fine then. Tell Near I want to meet him three days from now."

"Where?"

"At the abandon warehouse we were in five years ago. Sentimental, isn't it?"

"Look Light, you are not going to-!" Mogi stopped in mid-sentence, realizing that the man had hanged up. He closed the cell phone and put it back on the table. Then he headed out of the room to find Near and deliver the message. There was nothing left to do at this point.


	14. Chapter 14: Encounter

**A/N: This chapter is short. I know. It could have been longer but I wanted to break this chap and the next one based on subject. This one has to do with the meeting. The next chapter has to do with the backup plan (which is a long one anyways — makes up for the shortness of this). Anyway, I hoped I did a decent job with this chapter. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 14**

**:Encounter:**

"You're taking a whole notebook with you?" Ryuk asked. It was three days later. Today was the day Light was going to confront Near. Whether it would be the day Near would be defeated had yet to be seen.

"I have to," Light explained. "Near won't be satisfied if I don't. He would be looking for it and probably assume Thorn has one. As of right now, he doesn't know I have three notebooks in my possession. The one I have, I'll hide. The other one, Thorn's, I'll give it to Hiroko so she can pass it on to Thorn in the future."

"And the white one, you'll bring it with you," Ryuk stated.

"Yeah." He touched the white notebook, instantly taking possession of it. He opened it and wrote Hiroko's full name down. Then he wrote that she would die 23 days from now. Underneath that, he outlined everything Hiroko was suppose to do from now to until her death.

"When are you going to leave?" The shinigami asked. He was waiting for the real action to start.

"When Hiroko brings me what I want," he stated. "And that won't be until around noon."

* * *

Around three in the afternoon, Near was in the warehouse once again, a place he thought he would never return to. Behind him stood a masked Gevanni, a masked Rester, and the Task Force. Also there was Thorn. His dark eyes went in her direction. He wasn't sure if she was part of today's plan and therefore he didn't trust her. But he had to bring her along. He didn't know much about the woman and could not trust her back at his headquarters with one of the detectives. For all he knew, she could be followed by a shinigami. The shinigami could easily kill the guard and set Thorn free.

"Do you think that a mask will protect you?" Thorn suddenly said, her face unreadable.

Near raised an eyebrow behind the mask. She then added:

"There are other ways to kill you beside writing your name down."

Near turned away from the woman and looked around the area. It was five minutes after three and he still didn't see Kira. Already, the detective was on his guard, wondering what Kira was planning to do in this situation. He knew that his opponent would come prepared for every turn out. Near wanted to know what he had to see coming to avoid his death. He glanced back at the woman, wondering how important she was to Light Yagami. Would he use the Death Note on her to make sure his death happened? He wished he knew more about the two's relationship.

"Maybe Light changed his mind," Matsuda said hopefully.

"What would he gain from making such a decision?" Near challenged the theory. Kira would never run. Running would be admitting defeat and Kira was someone who hated losing to anyone.

"What are you going to do if you catch Yagami?" Thorn asked.

Near immediately picked up on the word 'if'. Although Thorn said she would help the Task Force and SPK, he knew that she was half-hoping that Light would win, half-hoping he would escape, half-hoping everything else. "What do you think we will do to Light, Ms. Kusonoki?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't have asked."

"So you're worried about the mass murderer, huh?" Gevanni stated, eying the redhead.

Thorn glared at the man. She and Gevanni had been on bad terms the last few days. Things didn't seem like they would improve any time soon. her gaze landed on Yamamoto, who was also staring at her. He was upset with her but for a different reason. She couldn't remember why she exactly lied to him about who she was and faked her interest in the man. She just remembered she had. Quickly, she tore her eyes away and looked at the noisy fan. Thorn had no idea that she was being watched.

* * *

Light was on the upper level, hiding behind a few crates he placed for this purpose. After carefully peering around the large crates, he could see everyone's position. He stared at the mask on Near's face. _That stupid mask again_, he thought. He pulled out the pistol from his coat and suddenly wished he had practiced shooting a bit. He didn't know how good his aim would be after all this time. His reddish brown eyes lingered on Thorn for a moment. _Maybe I won't need my back up plan_, he thought as he aimed the gun at Near.

Ryuk stood behind Light, waiting for the fireworks to begin.

_**BANG!**_

Below, there was a large commotion.

"Dammit," Light muttered under his breath. He had hoped the first shot would have done the job. But the bullet only went through Near's shoulder, not his heart nor his head. When he looked back out, the Task Force and the two members of the SPK had their guns pointed upward.

"Light," Aizawa said. "Don't be a coward. Show yourself."

Light stood, revealing himself from behind the crates. Everyone below pointed their gun at him instantly. Despite the situation, Light smirked. "Surprised to see me, Near?"

Near narrowed his eyes, tightly gripping his shoulder wound. "So it's true. Light Yagami has really returned from the dead."

"Isn't it interesting that everything is backwards? I lost here five years ago and today I'm going to win."

"Don't shoot, Light," Matsuda warned, gripping his gun tighter. "Or else we'll fire as well."

Ryuk chuckled. "What's your next move, Light?"

Light lifted his arm and pointed his pistol at Near, this time aiming for the chest. Matsuda fired his weapon. Light screamed, feeling a hot, sharp pain in his arm. He stumbled forward, flipping over the railing and hitting the ground below. Thorn gasped when she heard the sickening thud. Immediately she ran over.

"Ms. Kusonoki!" Matsuda yelled. "Come back here!"

_Why am I worried about Yagami_, she asked herself as knelt down beside his body and started to shake it. "Yagami," she stated, shaking him harder. He was breathing but didn't respond to her voice. Giving up, she looked back at Near. "He's not waking up."

"Watch out!"

An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against something warm. The warmth was a huge contrast to the cold metal pressed to the side of her head. She could feel something seeping through her shirt and she realized it was blood, his blood.

"Yagami," Thorn said, wishing she could see him with her own eyes.

"Thorn." Light noticed that she was breathing a little quicker than normal. Since he was behind her, he couldn't see her face but based on what he could tell, she was frightened in their current situation.

"Keep her out of this," Near said.

"Why should I?" Light said, carefully trailing the gun down the side of her face. Her breathing hitched slightly when he brought the gun under her chin. "Let me put it this way — as long as you keep those masks on, I can't keep her out of this."

"I can't allow that request," Near said.

"You're willing to put an innocent life in danger?" Light asked and suddenly became serious. "Take off the mask, Near."

"Fine, Light Yagami," Near said. "As long as Ms. Kusonoki is set free."

Light watched as Near slowly removed the L mask. Light was usually a patient man but as Near took his time, he became anxious. He wanted to see his name already so his next plan can go in motion. Finally when the mask came off, he sneered. Victory was so close at this point. "Nate River," Light said. "That's an interesting name. Nate River."

"Now you can let go of Ms. Kusonoki," Near said.

"Actually, I'll hold onto her a bit longer."

"Then we're at a stalemate, Light Yagami," Near stated. "I doubt you can write my name with your hands occupied at the moment and Ms. Kusonoki would not do it. My men can't attack you in the fear that you will kill Ms. Kusonoki. Unless of course, Ms. Kusonoki gives us the okay to attack."

Light looked down at Thorn, realizing she was the only movable pawn. He leaned in closer to the woman. "Thorn, inside my jacket is the Death Note. Take it out for me."

Thorn blindly searched for the notebook. She felt awkward because she only felt his chest and she didn't want to stray too low. After about ten seconds of this, Light instructed her. Eventually, her hand came upon the white notebook. She gasped as her memories came back to her. The gun pressed against her chin and she realized that she was still in a predicament. She placed the notebook on the floor in front of her and opened it, a pen already inside. Thorn shook her head, already seeing what was expected of her.

"I can't do this," she said.

"You have to," Light told her. _If she doesn't move, this will remain a stalemate. _He pressed the gun harder against her skin. "Write 'Nate River' down," he ordered.

"I can't," she whispered. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

"Really? What do you think he's going to do to me when I'm captured?"

Thorn looked down at the notebook again.

Aizawa gritted his teeth. "If you start writing in that notebook, I'll be force to shoot."

Thorn's eyes widened in shock. _Why do I have to be in the middle of this?_

Near narrowed his eyes. "Ms. Kusonoki, if you're worried about his safety, I can promise it."

Thorn didn't know what to do. She sat in silence, contemplating about her options. She wanted to please Light but at the same time, she didn't completely believe in this. They weren't criminals but they were trying to stop justice from happening.

She bit her lip.

She had made no such deal with Light Yagami; he forced her into this mess. However, the woman had told Near that she would help him, regardless of the fact she was a Kira supporter. If she turned back on her promise now, she would have been lying to Near. Honesty was something she valued in herself and in others. Finally, making up her mind, she closed the notebook.

"I'm sorry," Thorn whispered and elbowed Light in the stomach. She broke free of his hold and stood. She ran toward Near, clutching the notebook against her chest tightly. Then the woman stopped and turned around. Light had his gun pointed at her but did not pull the trigger. _Why doesn't he try and shoot me already?_

"You're outnumbered, Light," Aizawa said, taking a step forward. "Get rid of the weapon."

Light's gaze lingered on Thorn for a while longer before he threw the pistol aside. That was when the Task Force moved in to arrest Light. Thorn watched as the placed the handcuffs on and hoisted the man onto his feet. Then Light threw another look in Thorn's direction. The redhead frowned. As Mogi was about to lead Light outside the warehouse, Thorn stepped in their way.

Clutching the notebook tighter, she asked, "Why do you keep giving me that look?"

"What look?" Light asked.

He looked irritated, probably at her. But that didn't stop her from taking another step forward and staring him dead in the eye. . "That look from before," she replied.

Near sighed. "Ms. Kusonoki, now is not the time to ask . . ." His voice trailed off.

Light had leaned in and was now stealing a kiss from Thorn. Her dark eyes wide and her cheeks flushed, she was shocked that he would pull such a stunt and the fact that he wasn't stopping was making her head spin. Her heart continued to beat faster and faster; she didn't know what to do. Then her eyes slowly closed, deciding that it was time to kiss back. As if to spite her, Light pulled away. The woman stared at him, slightly confused and unsated. Forgetting that everyone else was around them, she leaned in for a second kiss. Before their lips could meet again, Gevanni took a firm hold of Thorn's arm and pulled her away.

"Mogi," Near stated. "Please take Light Yagami out of the warehouse. Ms. Kusonoki, hand over the book."

Thorn yanked her arm away from Gevanni and walked over to Near. _What's wrong with me?_ She asked herself._ I almost kissed him back. If Gevanni hadn't pulled me away, I probably would have. _Sighing, the woman handed the detective the notebook, her memories gone once again. Near touched it and looked around the warehouse. No shinigami was in sight.

**A/N: Thanks to badkidoh for reviewing. See after the next chapter, there's only one left. As of right now, I have two endings: 'Light wins' and 'Light loses'. Right now, I'm on the fence about this. So I decided to open a poll. All I need is for the readers (you peoples) to vote for the ending you want. Hopefully, with your help, I can finish the final chapter. Till later.**


	15. Chapter 15: Decision

**CHAPTER 15**

**:Decision:**

"So why didn't you tell me three weeks ago?" Cho asked.

"Because it didn't seem like a big deal then," Thorn responded. "I think we should move the painting over to the left a bit," she added, her eyes on the lighting above.

"Right," Cho agreed.

The two were in the gallery, trying to put a newly imported painting on display so buyers could see it. However, all the places they had tried to put it did not suit it at all. As they tried to find the perfect place, Cho had asked what had happened to Thorn's handsome roommate and friend.

"Wow. I can't believe that he kissed you goodbye. That's so romantic!"

"I don't think he meant it like that," Thorn muttered. "He did it just to screw with my mind."

"Why do you always say things like that?" Cho asked. "Men _do_ like you. You're not ugly. Remember that cute American with the blue eyes and—!"

"Please don't talk about him," Thorn said.

"Did something happened between the two of you?"

"I rather not say anything about it," Thorn replied.

Before she had been mad at Gevanni because he had led her on, something she hoped they could get passed. Now, she had another reason to be mad at him. After witnessing that kiss in the warehouse, the SPK member had been angry. Thorn wasn't sure if it was directed at her as much as it was directed at Light. Still, the man had insinuated that she was easy and for that, she had slapped him across the face. At times like that, she wished she had a better understanding to how a man's mind worked.

"Okay," Cho said. "Change of subject . . . Uh, what's up with the sudden change of appearance? You went from dark to preppy to dark again. Why?"

Thorn looked at herself. Today she was wearing a black pleated skirt accompanied with a chain and black stockings and a red blouse underneath a black vest. Her hair was no longer red; she had dyed it back to her normal hair color and allowed her bangs to grow longer, cutting a section out so one eye could be seen. The only thing she had retained from her old look was the lack of too much makeup. Sighing, she replied, "This look suits me more."

They heard the door open, signaling they had a customer. Thorn and Cho put the painting down to see who it was.

A woman stood in the doorway, holding a box. Her eyes landed on the two coworkers. "Are any of you Thorn?"

Thorn frowned, feeling weird about this. She had never seen this woman before and thought it was strange that she knew where to find her. Slowly, Thorn approached the mysterious person, saying that she was the one she was looking for her. The woman handed the box over.

"Open it in the bathroom," the woman instructed in a low voice and quickly left.

Cho came over and stared at the box with interest. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Thorn said, examining the box and wondering who sent it. She walked passed her friend, already removing the binding tape. She didn't opened the box until she was in the bathroom, door closed and locked. She opened it and saw a letter. Eyebrows raised, she picked it up and read it.

_Thorn,_

_If you got this letter, that means that I've been captured and that my second plan is going into action as you read this. I'm trusting you more than before because you're crucial in this. I'm trusting you to do what is in my favor this time. Beneath this letter is the Death Note. Pick it up. At 1:34 PM, it will be yours. After that, you know what to do._

_Light_

Thorn stared into the box and saw a black notebook. Reluctantly, she touched it. No sooner than that moment, her memories came back in a flood. The flood finished as fast as it had came. She glanced at the book, careful not to remove her fingers from the cover. She glanced down at her watch and saw that it was now 1:34 PM. She waited a bit, not sure how accurate her watch was.

"I take it that you have all your memories," Ryuk said behind her.

Thorn nodded and slowly released the Death Note. Her memories did not disappear and her body relaxed. "Ryuk, I don't know what my life-span looks like now but I'm assuming that it's very long, a lot longer than it needs to be."

"Are you thinking about what I'm thinking about?"

"I want to make the trade," she said, hiding the notebook under her blouse, tucked securely in her leggings. She flushed the letter down the toilet. Then she started to rip the box to pieces. "But I won't do anything until tomorrow. I'm assuming that there are cameras throughout my apartment. Near is probably waiting twenty-three days, at least. I need you to tell me if there's a blind spot somewhere in the house so I can hid the notebook."

"Then you'll kill Near," Ryuk said.

"I guess so," Thorn said, unlocking the bathroom door. "I have to dispose of Nate River."

* * *

"So did Light crack yet?" Matsuda asked Aizawa. The two men visited the SPK headquarters to see if any progress had been made in the Kira case.

Aizawa shook his head. "Not yet. He's not answering any of Near's questions.."

"It's been three weeks. What could he be waiting for?" Matsuda asked.

"Possibly on Thorn," Aizawa muttered.

* * *

"How are you still alive?" Near asked.

Light sighed. He had heard that question so many times and up to now, he still did not want to answer. After all, the information wouldn't matter for much longer. It had been twenty-three days since he last wrote in the notebook. He was now waiting for Thorn to do her duty as the second Kira.

He thought about when he kissed her and how she was willing to return the kiss. That proved he had some control over her. So maybe, once her memories return in a time of safety, she would be on his side. Then again, there was the Gevanni issue. Surely that kiss did some damage to their already-fragile relationship. The man looked jealous and Thorn did not seem fond of jealous men.

Assuming what happened three weeks ago, she should have no problem killing the entire Task Force, the SPK, and Near for his sake. Then, once that happens, what would he do with Thorn after he escaped? Kill her or keep her around? He still didn't have an answer to that.

"Answer the question, Yagami," Near demanded.

Light glared at the third 'L'. "I have nothing to say."

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing."

"What is Ms. Kusonoki up to?"

"What do you mean?"

"Today at work, she received a box. When she left work, the box was not with her. What is she up to?"

Light smirked, hearing the good news. "I don't know."

Near looked away and twirled a lock of hair with his fingers. "Very well then. We'll have to torture the information out of you. It would be going against my promise to Ms. Kusonoki but there's no other option."

* * *

It was the next day. Thorn had found the one blind spot in the house due to Ryuk's careful search for the cameras. Before she left for work this morning, she went there to retrieve the notebook. She hid it under her shirt and then walked out of her apartment. She rationalized that after seeing the box, the Task Force or the SPK would come to her apartment and look for whatever was in it. Better yet, Gevanni would look for it. She wanted it to be Gevanni more than anyone. Her involvement started with him and should end with him as well.

She walked the streets to the subway.

"You're being followed already," Ryuk stated.

"Description."

"I prefer being a spectator in this."

"If I screw up, I'd be locked up for sure. I won't give up the notebook either, so you'll have to stay in human world. And . . . you will become extremely bored."

Ryuk sighed. "Woman. Blonde hair."

On the train ride, Thorn took out her cell phone. Glancing up, she saw a woman with blonde hair. The woman was not Japanese for sure, suggesting that was her follower. The blonde was pretending to be preoccupied with this morning's newspaper. Thorn leaned her head against the window behind her. _Halle Bullook_, she thought. _Nate River. Touta Matsuda. Shinsuke Yamamoto. Shuichi Aizawa. Kanzu Mogi. Hideki Ide . . . I need two more names before I can safely move — Gevanni's and Rester's. I have to find a way to lure them out._

Thorn glanced at the woman. _Halle Bullook. I can't forget that name . . . If I kill her, then that should be enough to lure Rester out into the open. Possibly Gevanni is at my apartment now. How long will it take Gevanni to search my apartment? An hour or two? Will I have enough time to do all this? _

The conductor announced her stop and Thorn stood, picking up her side bag. She got off the train, sure that Bullook wasn't far behind. She climbed up the stairs and stepped onto the sidewalk. Then she made her way down the sidewalk, glancing at a few shops.

"When will you make your move?" Ryuk asked.

"In about an hour," she muttered under her breath.

* * *

Light was sitting in his cell, thinking. Near was coming up with more ways to torture the information out of him after yesterday's set did not work. Light had kept his mouth shut through all the water dripping on the forehead, all the lashes, starvation, electrocution, and other things. Personally, Light didn't believe he could handle anything else, whether it was physical torture or mental. He was at his limits. He wondered if Thorn was going to make a move at all. Why did she find it necessary to take so long to act?

He sighed when his stomach growled.

Maybe he was being impatient about the whole situation.

_Knowing her, she probably made the shinigami eyes by now,_ he thought reassuringly. _She's probably just trying to find out their names. Then she'll kill of everyone involved in this case._

* * *

Near was sitting in a room. On the walls were monitors giving different views of Thorn's apartment. On the one showing Thorn's room, Gevanni was seen searching throughout the bedroom. On his desk was a mic tied to three different lines, one for each SPK member. He twirled a lock of hair, trying to figure out what to do in the current situation. That was when Aizawa and Matsuda entered the room.

"Near," Matsuda started. "Is there anything new developments in the Kira case?"

"Hm?"

Matsuda scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "You know, did you find the second Kira?"

"I thought I clarified that Thorn is the second Kira," Near said.

"Then why did you let her go?" Matsuda asked.

"I need to know where the Death Notes are," Near replied. "There are two Kiras, so logically there should be at least two Death Notes. As of right now, we only recovered one notebook from Light. Therefore there's at least one more out there that could potentially fall into the wrong hands. Yesterday, Thorn received a mysterious box, which could have a notebook in it."

"And that's why Gevanni is searching her home," Aizawa concluded, eying the monitors.

Near nodded. "Lidner is trailing Ms. Kusonoki."

_**Beep!**_

Near pressed a button and said into the mic, "What is it, Lidner?"

"The suspect is not going to work like originally planned."

Near frowned. "Where is she?"

"In a boutique."

"A boutique? Follow her into the store. You need to watch her at all times."

"Yes sir."

* * *

In the back of the boutique, Thorn pulled out the Death Note, listening for the bell to signal another customer. She looked at her watch and saw that it was passed eleven o'clock. The train back home, if she remembered correctly, wouldn't come until twelve-fifteen. Quickly she scribbled down: _Halle Bullook – tells Near that she can't talk anymore at 12:12 pm on January 3, 2016 as she enters the subway. After getting off a train, commits suicide by jumping in front of a passing train._

Thorn heard the bell and quickly put the book into her bag. She grabbed a random item off the shelf and hurried to the cashier with it. She noticed Lidner abruptly stopping at a magazine shelf and looking through a few issues. Thorn knew Lidner was pretending but she still felt nervous all the same. She had almost been caught.

Ryuk chuckled. "So you finally started," the shinigami said. "Light will be pleased."

Thorn grabbed the shopping bag off the counter and left the boutique. _I can't believe what I'm about to do over one man._

_**

* * *

**_

Beep!

Near pressed another button and spoke into the mic. "What is it, Rester?"

"Lidner just committed suicide."

Near's eyes immediately went to the monitors, watching the one showing the entrance of the apartment. "Where's Ms. Kusonoki?"

"I lost track of her, sir."

Near cut off the line. _Could it have started already?_

* * *

After receiving a message, Gevanni got his stuff and left the bedroom. He couldn't believe that Halle Lidner killed herself. She had no reason to. There was only one explanation. Someone wrote her name down in the Death Note, someone with the eyes. He stopped in the hallway, hearing the lock clicked. He looked left and right, not sure where to go. Quickly he hid in the bathroom.

The door opened and Thorn stepped through. She looked at the living room, seeing everything is in check. _Did he come today? _She asked herself. _If he didn't, then killing Bullook was a mistake._

She heard Ryuk chuckled. "He's hiding in the bathroom."

Feeling a bit better about the situation, Thorn nodded and ran to her bedroom. At the door, she placed her bag down on her dresser. She was about to turn around when she heard a gun click.

"Don't move, Amaya."

Thorn looked over her shoulder and saw Gevanni standing there, his gun pointed at her. "Are you going to kill me, Stephen?"

"I have to arrest you," Gevanni stated.

"Behind my back, right?" Thorn asked, her arms already going behind her back. Her dark eyes were watching the man, waiting for him to move. All he did was give her a funny look. "Aren't you going to handcuff me?" She checked, examining him fully.

"I don't have handcuffs," he muttered. He looked around, trying to find a makeshift handcuff, anything that he could tie her hands with. Finally he came up with an idea. "Remove your stockings."

Thorn didn't move. "Are you doing this for your twisted amusement like before?"

"What?"

"When you used me before you turned me in. Is it going to be like that?"

"I didn't use you."

"Really? Then what was it?"

"I meant everything," Gevanni said, lowering the gun. _What am I doing? I have no time for this._

Out of the corner of her eyes, Thorn could see Ryuk started to remove the cameras in the bedroom. She spotted the earpiece on Gevanni and decided that she should remove it quickly before Near told him of the situation. She moved in and kissed the SPK member, weaving one set of her fingers through his hair. With the other set, she pulled the earpiece out.

Gevanni pulled her away from him. "What are you doing?"

"Take me," Thorn said.

"What?"

"Please," she whispered, taking his hand and placing it over her breast. "If you have to arrest me, show me how much you care before you do." She had wanted a situation that she could get out of once Rester showed up. She believe that if Rester walked in while the two of them were having sex — a very awkward situation — he would leave her alone to change without question. Then she could write all the names in the Death Note without a problem.

"What about Light Yagami?" Gevanni asked.

"He doesn't mean as much as you mean to me," she replied, moving in closer. "Do you want me to beg you?"

Gevanni looked away from her, thinking about her request. "I can't . . ." His blue eyes landed on her tantalizing, parted lips. He shook his head, trying to show how much he did not want to support this idea. And yet . . .

Thorn leaned in and kissed him on the lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. His hand never left her breast.

* * *

Light was in his cell, trying to drift away into sleep. After all there was nothing else to do. His stomach growled, reminding him of his missed lunch. How much longer was this going to go on for, he constantly asked himself. And now that his reddish brown eyes gazed at the white ceiling, Light realized how annoyingly white the room was. Was this some way of making him crack?

Light almost jumped when he saw the shinigami standing in the cell. "Where's Thorn?" He asked, getting impatient.

"Back at her apartment," he replied.

"Did she make the trade?"

"She did. She already killed an SPK member."

"Was it Gevanni?"

"No."

Light sat up and looked at floor. _What's taking her so long to kill Near? There's no reason for her to wait. _"Tell me—!"

"Talking to yourself Yagami?" Near asked. "Or is there a shinigami in your cell?"

"What do you want Near?" Light muttered.

* * *

Thorn cursed at herself and her pity. Gevanni had to say those three words to her and now she wasn't sure she could kill him. All her determination and will jumped out the window and now she was left with guilt and indecisiveness. Closing her eyes, she tried to slow down her breathing. She felt too tired to move. Not that she could with Gevanni resting on top of her. Lazily, she played with a few locks of his hair and closed her eyes.

"You don't mean that," she whispered, referring to the three words he had said.

"I do," he responded, frowning a little. "You don't want me to?"

_It would be better if you didn't,_ she thought as she shook her head no. _Why did I allow myself to get so attached to this man? I wished Light had kissed me more and touched me more. Then I wouldn't be in this predicament. If I hadn't moved in with Shinsuke and had stayed with Light, I could have fallen deeply in love with him instead. I wouldn't have met Stephen. I wouldn't have to feel so confused. _

She moaned as Gevanni gingerly planted kisses on her chest.

_Why do I have to be torn between the two of them? I have a duty to Light but I want to protect Stephen. If only he was a Kira supporter then . . ._

Gevanni got off the woman and grabbed his boxers and pants. Glancing back at her, he watched her pull the covers a bit to hide her essentials, her dark eyes on him. He looked away to hide his blush and quickly pulled on his boxers and pants.

"Amaya, do you love me back?" He asked, sitting back on the bed.

Thorn met his gaze, her heart racing. "I—!"

The door kicked opened and Rester came in. He had received a call from Near that said Gevanni could not be reached and could be in potential danger. His orders were to come to Thorn's apartment, check on Gevanni's status, and arrest the suspect. He was not prepared for the sight in front of him, which resulted a shock expression.

"Rester," Gevanni said, standing up.

"I'm here for Ms. Kusonoki," Rester explained, eying the woman wrapped up in bedsheets. "She's under the suspicion for the death of Lidner."

Gevanni looked back at Thorn and Thorn stared at the pillow.

"I don't know what you're talking," she said, "but I suppose I have to come with you."

"You do," Rester reaffirmed.

"Okay. But can you excuse me so I can change?" Thorn heard a light chuckle and she almost wanted to smile. Ryuk was here and she was glad. She needed him now more than ever.

Rester frowned. "I can't allow that. One of us will have to stay with you."

Thorn raised an eyebrow. "Are you that perverse?"

"Then Gevanni will stay with you."

"I know he's seen me naked," Thorn started, carefully choosing her words, "but it would be awkward now since the mood's gone."

Rester gave her a hard look. "We'll wait down the hallway. You have two minutes to find clothes. You take longer than that and we'll force you out, dressed or not. And your room has to be left open."

"Fine," Thorn said.

The men left. Thorn looked at the shinigami, nodding toward the door and the dresser.

"You want me to close the door and push the dresser in front of it, huh?" Ryuk asked. "What do I get in return?"

Thorn shrugged, careful not to say a word.

"How about lots of apples?"

Thorn nodded. Ryuk grinned and floated across the floor. He closed the door and already he could hear the SPK members running down the hallway. Ryuk locked it and took his time to move the dresser in front. He figured he had no need to rush; it would take some time before they could break the door down. There was a thud, signaling they were trying to ram the door down.

Thorn got up when the dresser was in place and got her purse. She sat down on the floor and pulled out the Death Note. She took out a pen and chewed on the end of it, musing over her next decision.

_Nate River. Touta Matsuda. Hideki Ide. Shuichi Aizawa. Shinsuke Yamamoto. Kanzo Mogi. Anthony Carter. Stephen Loud . . . Do I really have to do this for one man?_


	16. Chapter 16: Finis

**A/N: Woohoo! The finally chapter of this story. This will be the FIFTH story I've completed. So yeah, I'm excited. I'm glad I got so many reviews last chapter and thanks to those who voted in the poll. I also want to thank the reviewers badkidoh, Maniacal Muffins, Anonymous, GBAgentOtaku, Demon, Youkai Godess, and Selene from the last chapter. I hope this ending will satisfy everyone. Just to let you know, I purposely named this chapter after the final volume of Death Note. Anyway, enjoy this final posting.**

**BOOK OF EXISTENCE**

**CHAPTER 16**

**:Finis:**

Thorn leaned against the dresser, staring at the notebook in her hands. For once, she was the pivoting point; for once, she had complete control of not only her life but others as well. The thought of destroying some of those lives was overwhelming though. She wished Light was here. He would have no problem doing the job. He wasn't attached to any of them in the slightest. He could easily discard them whenever. She now wondered if Light could do the same to her.

She heard Gevanni's voice but she couldn't answer him, not when she was thinking of doing the worst thing possible.

"What's taking you so long?" Ryuk asked, anxious to see the end of Light's greatest enemies.

Instead of answering, Thorn posed a question of her own. "If someone loves you, it's bad to hurt them as oppose to someone who doesn't, right?"

"Do you honestly think shinigami love, Thorn?"

She suddenly thought of Milos.

"Some do, Ryuk."

"Well, I'm not one of them," Ryuk replied. ". . . Do you love Light?"

"Why should that affect my decision?"

"Then why should your feelings for Gevanni affect your decision?"

Thorn sighed and walked over to her bed with the notebook. She could still hear the yelling on the other side of the door. She tried to tune it out with her own thoughts as she closed her dark eyes and lied on the bed. She lied down and stared blankly at the ceiling. Then, almost inaudibly, she sang:

"Careful what you do  
Cause God is watching your every move  
Hold my hand in the dark street  
For if you do I know that I'll be safe . . ."

At that point her voice trailed off and she started to hum the rest of it, unable to remember the rest of the words. Eventually she became silent to think quietly to herself. Soon she sat up and reached for the notebook.

"I've stalled long enough," she announced as she flipped the Death Note to a fresh page.

Ryuk smirked. "Oh, that was what you were doing the last twenty minutes?"

"I'm doing this because I owe Light," Thorn said. "He didn't have to go through all that trouble to save me that night. Plus, I promised him that I would do this."

"You don't have to save Light; just kill all those who oppose you and you can be Kira."

Thorn quickly shook her. "I have to set him free. The world will need a Kira and after today, I won't stick around for the revolution. I can't live with myself once I kill them all."

_All of them have some sort of family so I can't discard their bodies anywhere_, she thought. Even when she had to dispose of people, she tried to cling onto some sort of humanity._ It has to be somewhere where they could be found and the family would know._

Thorn thought about every scenario and tried to cover as many loopholes as possible. There was that "What if Near doesn't have the key to set Light free?" She didn't want to take any risk and screw up her one chance to save Light. Finally, after a minute of plotting, she pressed the pen toward the paper and started writing.

_Shuichi Aizawa. If he has the key to get Light Yagami out of his cell, he will set Light free. If anyone stands in his way, he will gun them down. Whether he can or cannot do these things, he will definitely go home and enjoy the afternoon with his family after stopping by the Task Force HQ to destroy all documents pertaining to the Kira Case. On January 3, 2016, at 11 p.m. he will die of a heart attack._

_Hideki Ide. If he has the key to get Light Yagami out of his cell, he will set Light free. If anyone stands in his way, he will gun them down. Definitely will go home January 3, 2016 and take an overdose of drugs at 11 p.m.. He will die from it._

_Kanzo Mogi. If he has the key to get Light Yagami out of his cell, he set will Light free. If anyone stands in his way, he will gun them down. Goes home January 3, 2016 and have heart attack at 11 p.m._

_Touta Matsuda. If he has the key to get Light Yagami out of his cell, he will set Light free. If anyone stands in his way, he will gun them down. Regardless, commits suicide on January 3, 2016 in his home at 11 p.m._

_Shinsuke Yamamoto. If he has the key to Light Yagami's cell, he set will Light free. If anyone stands in his way, he will gun them down. Has heart attack on January 3, 2016 at 11 p.m._

_Nate River. January 3, 2016, set Light Yagami free, handcuffs and sends the man on his way home. Then he will destroy all information pertaining to the Kira case. Takes the next plane back to his home and dies of a heart attack on January 4, 2016 at 9 a.m._

Thorn took a deep breath and glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand. It was only three-twenty in the afternoon. She turned back toward the notebook.

_Anthony Carter. On January 3, 2016, heads toward the hotel he's staying at 3:22 p.m. In the hotel lobby, he dies of a heart attack._

She bit her lip, knowing the final name she had to write down.

* * *

Light didn't reach the apartment until after six o'clock. He was surprised to find the door open. Then he realized that it was probably open because of Gevanni or Rester breaking into the place. He was sure that they were gone.

Like Near. He could still see those dead coal eyes as Near opened the cell and unlocked the handcuffs. Then Near saying he lose was the final touch that Thorn provided. Light decided he would give his kudos to the woman the moment he saw. Afterward, he would have to figure what do with her. He wasn't going to kill her; no, he couldn't. She might come in handy in the future. So far, she had proven how reliable of an asset she was.

The man walked inside and looked around for the woman. He didn't see her in the kitchen or in the living room. So he headed to her room, figuring that was where she would be. Though he found it odd that she wasn't out here waiting for him.

Light saw Ryuk in the hallway, munching greedily on an apple. At the base of the shinigami feet was a pile of apple cores.

"Where's Thorn?" Light asked.

Ryuk threw the core into the growing pile. "Probably dead."

"What?"

"She said she wanted to die. I haven't heard from her in the last hour or so."

Light opened her bedroom door and stopped there.

Thorn quickly looked up from her knees, her face streaked with tears and mascara. She seemed surprise to see him so soon. She glanced at the pills and the knife on her bed, thinking about hiding the items under the covers quickly. But then she saw Light was already eying the knife and pills, his mind working, and so she did not bother to hide the discriminating evidence.

"Kill me," she said, skipping all greetings and getting straight to the point. "I don't want live anymore but I can't take my own life. Since you know where the Book of Existence is, I want you to do it for me."

After a good moment, Light asked, "Why?"

Her dark eyes looked at the bare wall next to her. "I feel guilty."

"Why don't you just give up ownership of the notebook? You won't remember being responsible for their deaths."

"That would be lying to myself," she muttered. She looked at him. "This is the last favor I want. So please, just kill me."

Light stared at the floor, trying to keep calm. Thorn could not be serious. He needed her to be around for a few good reasons. One, she was still part of society while he was not. At least, not until he registered himself into the system under a new name. But until then, she was a necessary link to the world that acknowledged her existence. Second, the woman was as honest as they came and it wouldn't be easy to find some to replace her. If for some reason another L clone appeared, he needed someone he could trust without worrying about betrayal. And as a plus, Thorn knew what she had to do without him saying a word. She was thorough and careful. She was still valuable; therefore he still needed her.

Thorn got off the bed, walked over to the man, and grabbed his arm gently. Their eyes connected.

"Yagami, please," she pleaded.

"No," Light said. Feeling her nails digging through his shirt, he turned away and stared out into the hallway to collect his thoughts. "Let's put it this way," he said. "If you really did believe you should die, then you would have killed yourself by now. Saying that you do deserve to die would be lying, wouldn't it?"

"But-!"

Light stared into her eyes. "If it makes you feel any better, I want you around."

Thorn looked away, not sure what to say. She had been so certain that this was what she had wanted. Now, she only doubted that. She let go of his arm and walked over to her bed, where she lied down and brought the sheets up to her neck. Light came over and took the knife and pills. Apparently, he didn't trust her with them in the room. The two briefly looked at each other and Thorn rolled over to face the wall.

To say that she hated Light Yagami would be lying to herself as well.

* * *

_Late July . . ._

"It's been a year," Thorn said, absentmindedly.

Light raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Since we first met."

Light looked at the calendar and saw today's date. To think that it was already a year. So much had happened in that short span of time. From the time he came back to life to the time they moved to northern Tokyo. The only reason Thorn got a new apartment was because Light suggested it; he figured a fresh start would help her out of her depression. Thorn had to get a new job and new friends; Light had gotten a new identity as 'Light Asahi' and a part-time job. With a part time job, he could dedicate some time to being Kira. Not like he needed to be Kira often.

The world's crime rate had dropped substantially over the last several months. Light only had to get rid of one or two criminals a day, just to remind the world that Kira was still around and wasn't going anywhere for a long time. So pretty much, he had a lot of free time to do whatever he wanted. Some times during that free time, he decided to hang out with Thorn.

"You want to go out to celebrate? Got out to the movies maybe?" Thorn asked.

Light nonchalantly shrugged. "Sure."

Thorn cracked a tiny smile. "I'll get ready then," she said and went to her room.

Ryuk appeared next to Light. "She seems happy."

"We're going out," the man explained.

Ryuk chuckled. "That's interesting. You and Thorn, now on good terms. Weren't you two trying to kill each other a year ago?"

"Things changed. I got what I wanted. She got what she wanted."

Ryuk snorted. "What's the movie?"

"You're not coming with us," Light said. "You're going to the shinigami realm."

"You want a sixth Death Note?"

"I don't need another Misa popping up anytime soon."

"Fine," Ryuk replied. "I was getting a little bored down here anywhere."

The shinigami took off and Light went to get ready.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Light and Thorn were walking down the crowded sidewalk in silence, glancing around and examining the things they usually hurried past. Today, they were at ease and relaxed, not worried about the pain of work or the tiny little problems of the world. Light slowed down outside an electronic store. For the window showcase, large plasma televisions were displayed. All of them where tuned onto the Kira Network, the channel dedicated to all things Kira. The station had came out two months ago when it became that a majority of the world either feared or supported Kira. He had seen several segments where people name others who had done something, preferably criminals.

On all the screens was a middle-aged man wearing elaborate robes and talking into a microphone.

"_Kira, I want to let you know I'm willing to be the messenger of your word! Choose this station to be your spokespeople! We . . ."_

_It's like they turned Kira into a religion,_ Light thought.

"You never did choose," Thorn said, her dark eyes on him.

Light continued watching the program, sighing. "I'll get to it eventually."

"You don't seem happy about the idea," she said, examining his expression. "I thought this is what you always wanted. Are you bored without Near?"

Light shook his head. "That's not it. This is what I wanted. No 'L' or Near to stand in my way. The world's not perfect yet but it will be soon." He looked at the woman, seeing that she was still staring at him. "Maybe I should get a queen soon," he added with a smirk.

"That's nothing to joke about," Thorn said.

Smirking, he looked back at the television screens. "You're right. It isn't."

He continued down the sidewalk, forgetting about the program. The channel, after all, was dedicated to Kira twenty-four-seven. If he really wanted to watch it, he could do that later. Thorn lingered in front of the electronic store before rushing to catch up to him. She slowed down once she reached his side. The man glanced at her, catching her gaze. Thorn looked away first and said:

"I'm glad you agree with me, Light."


End file.
